- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the name is of the new cladding stakeholder group that it has formed with industry representatives and a homeowner representative; how frequently it meets; on what dates it has met; what its full remit is; what its full membership is, and where the minutes of its minutes can be accessed.
Answer
The Cladding Stakeholder Group was formed in June 2021 and meets monthly. The Group provides a forum for discussion, partnership working, continuous improvement and constructive challenge to support the Single Building Assessment and Cladding Remediation programme. Membership reflects the interests of homeowners as well as the finance, insurance, home building and professional advice sectors. Under its terms of reference, material generated by the Group should remain confidential.
Meeting Dates 2021-22 |
30 June |
19 August |
15 September |
20 October |
17 November |
15 December |
19 January |
16 February |
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it anticipates that the Single Building Assessment programme will move from a pilot to a full scheme.
Answer
To support our approach and ensure quality for the next phase, we will shortly begin an interim and independent evaluation of the pilot phase.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many properties it has supported the purchase of through the New Supply Shared Equity scheme, and, of those, how many it (a) has taken and (b) retains a “golden share” in, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
Annual New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) sales are published as part of the attached Affordable Housing Supply Programme Out-turn Reports.
More homes: Affordable Housing Supply Programme - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The number of NSSE sales with a golden share attached and retained are included in the following table by local authority.
Local Authority | Number of properties purchased with a golden share attached | Number of properties with golden share retained |
Argyll & Bute | 67 | |
East Renfrewshire | 32 | |
Glasgow | 17 | |
Highland | 681 | 675 |
Orkney | 24 | 11 |
Renfrewshire | 28 | |
Shetland | 11 | 11 |
Western Isles | 77 | 77 |
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it is reportedly investing £28.75 million of funding through the Scottish 4G Infill programme for up to 55 4G masts, in light of policy relating to telecommunications currently being reserved to the UK Government.
Answer
The Scottish 4G Infill Programme (S4GI) was established in 2017 to address clear market failure and mitigate the absence of any policy from the UK Government at the time to tackle rural notspots. When we established S4GI, the UK Government’s earlier Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP) had failed to deliver meaningful outcomes for Scotland. Of 84 planned MIP sites in Scotland, only three were ultimately delivered. S4GI forms part of our wider 2016 Mobile Action Plan, which committed to exploring direct intervention in delivery of mobile coverage in areas of market failure.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether kitchens with a log burner should have a smoke and heat alarm installed, or only a heat alarm.
Answer
The new standard requires an alarm in a kitchen and in most cases this should be a heat alarm. In a kitchen with a log burner, a heat alarm should be installed to avoid false alarms.
As there is a log burner in this area, a Carbon Monoxide alarm will also be required.
Further guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-alarms-tolerable-standard-guidance/
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with developing the "rail link between Dyce and Ellon and further north to Peterhead and Fraserburgh" referred to in the co-operation agreement between it and Scottish Green Party, and when it expects to carry out a formal feasibility study.
Answer
An option for new rail line between Aberdeen, Ellon and onwards to Peterhead and Fraserburgh was assessed as part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). The outcome of this was that this option did not form part of the strategic transport investment recommendations within STPR2. Instead, recommendations set out in STPR2 focus on the decarbonisation of the remainder of the rail network; measures to increase the amount of freight travelling by rail and on improving connectivity between our 7 cities.
However, there remains a path for regional or local rail projects to come forward, and Transport Scotland will consider these subject to a strong business case being developed in accordance with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and suitable funding being available.
Improving wider public transport accessibility in the North East is a key STPR2 recommendation and Transport Scotland continues to work with Nestrans, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council in developing plans for Aberdeen Rapid Transit further appraisal of which is already being progressed through our Bus Partnership Fund. The rapid transit system would prioritise buses and connect key destinations on the outskirts of Aberdeen to the city centre via busy radial corridors. Bus priority is also being looked at through the Bus Partnership fund, including to Ellon. The proposed bus based rapid transit system for the region would provide a more competitive and efficient public transport into and around the Aberdeen City region. This would improve region wide connectivity and encourage a switch from car to public transport and other more sustainable travel options.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out further analysis regarding its estimate of the 67,000 applications for the self-isolation support grant that are expected to be received in 2021/22 and, if so, whether its estimate has changed.
Answer
The Self-Isolation Support Grant (SISG) is designed to help workers who have to self-isolate for the required period to stop the onward spread of the virus. As a result, eligibility for the Grant aligns to the wider isolation policy. This means that forecasts are subject to a high degree of uncertainty because of the unpredictability of the virus and consequent human action.
The SISG is delivered by local authorities using local processes and systems. The differences between them mean that estimated application rates would be unreliable. Instead forecast award rates based on projected prevalence of the virus is used.
Our latest forecast of SISG awards for the 2021-22 financial year is between 90,000 and 110,000, with a central forecast of 100,000. The model will be updated soon with the latest available data; these figures may change as a result.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding Glasgow City Council received, from the £23.5 million allocated to homelessness prevention, in 2021-22.
Answer
In 2021-22, Glasgow City Council received £4.826 million from the £23.5 million provided to local authorities for preventing and responding to homelessness.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government in which local authorities grants from the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund have been awarded since its launch.
Answer
Since the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund was launched in June 2021 Aberdeen City Council, Clackmannanshire Council and Fife Council have been awarded grants.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring processes it has in place to ensure that money allocated via the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund is adequately and efficiently spent.
Answer
It is a condition of grant under the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund that projects are developed in line with the Interim Site Design Guide, published by the Scottish Government in December 2021 to assist in the development of high quality accommodation. Grant offers are being phased, based on tendered costs, to help manage the risks attached to current supply chain issues. Local authorities will report regularly to the Scottish Government on progress and draw down funding in line with evidenced spend on their projects. Plans for learning from and evaluation of the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund include a comparative cost analysis, to improve our understanding of the costs of modern Gypsy/Traveller accommodation.