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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-24929

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24281 by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019, in light of the meeting with Glasgow City Council that took place, how a voluntary review will seek to address any problems that the council has in fulfilling its homelessness duty.

The voluntary review will allow Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership to work with Scottish Government to better understand what lies behind the statistics showing an increase in the number of people presenting as homeless that are failing to be offered temporary accommodation in Glasgow. Through its findings the review team will look to identify issues and propose actions for improvement to Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.

Question reference: S5W-24927

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24275 by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019, whether the meeting with Glasgow City Council took place as scheduled on 2 August 2019 and, if so, whether it will provide the information that was requested.

The first voluntary review meeting between officials from Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council took place as scheduled on 2 August 2019. The next meeting took place on Friday 30 August.

As outlined in my reply to question S5W-24275 the review is not a Scottish Government intervention and findings will be reported to the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.

The remit of the review is to identify areas for improvement and it will be for the review team, taking account of its initial findings and subsequent actions, to determine the process to be followed including what information is required for the purposes of the review.

Question reference: S5W-24931

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24279 by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019, what the timeframe is for introducing standards for temporary accommodation.

When temporary accommodation is needed, it is important that it is of good quality. A consultation on improving temporary accommodation standards has recently closed and we are currently undertaking analysis of the responses. We will set out later this year our next steps in developing a legally enforceable standards framework. In the meantime we will include new advisory standards for temporary accommodation in the refreshed Code of Guidance due to be published in November.

We also announced on 3 September in the Programme for Government, that we will legislate to extend the Unsuitable Accommodation Order to all households experiencing homelessness this parliamentary year and that the Order will come into force this parliamentary term, by May 2021.

Question reference: S5W-24930

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24281 by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019, in light of the meeting with Glasgow City Council that took place, whether the findings of the voluntary review by the council will be made public, and what duty there will be on the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership to act on the findings.

Two meetings have now taken place between Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership and Scottish Government officials to progress on addressing the failure to accommodate. These meetings took place on 2 and 30 August 2019.

The purpose of the review, which the Council has agreed to undertake with Scottish Government, is to identify improvements that will assist Glasgow City Council in meeting its legislative duty to homeless households. As this is a voluntary review being undertaken in partnership between the Health and Social Care Partnership and the Scottish Government, there is no duty to act on its findings and the decision, including making the findings public will be that for the Partnership. However, like all local authorities, Glasgow has a duty to provide temporary accommodation to all homeless households.

Question reference: S5O-03559

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to improve the Glasgow-East Kilbride train line.

Question reference: S5O-03478

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish a national development plan for crofting.

Question reference: S5W-24282

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its Homelessness in Scotland: 2018 to 2019 statistics on 26 June 2019, what its response is to the increase in homeless applicants who are veterans, and what the reasons are for this increase.

While over the last 10 years (2008-2009 to 2018-2019), there has been a 49% decrease in homelessness applications made by people formerly in the armed services, the 8 % increase in the most recent statistics published on the 26 th of June is disappointing.

We are not sure of the reasons for the increase in recent applications. It therefore serves as a reminder why tackling and preventing homelessness is a key priority for the Scottish Government. Our Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan, published in November, will transform how those at risk of homelessness receive help, this includes our commitment to developing a pathway to prevent homelessness for people with experience of the armed services.

As part of this work we will look to understand the reasons for the increase in recent applications by working with the Armed Forces community, while developing a prevention pathway for people with experience of the armed forces. We expect this work to complete next year.

Question reference: S5W-24277

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its Homelessness in Scotland: 2018 to 2019 homelessness statistics on 26 June 2019, for what reason there has been a 2% increase in the number of households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness since 2017-18.

The increase in the number of households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness since 2017-18, is likely due to the increase in the number of applications over the same period. The number of homeless assessments has increased broadly in line with the number of homeless applications, which increased by 3%. While the number of applicants assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness has increased, the proportion of all assessment decisions assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness has stayed within one percentage point for the last 5 years (82%-83%).

Question reference: S5W-24286

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to all five pathfinder housing first pilots reportedly being behind in meeting their June 2019 targets.

Scottish Government officials are working closely with Housing First Scotland Pathfinder Programme partners as the steady development of Housing First in the five Pathfinder areas continues.

At end of June, 93 people had moved in to a tenancy, with a higher number currently being assessed and allocated to support, against a guideline target of 143.

How quickly Housing First can be up-scaled is one of the key questions this Programme seeks to answer. This means identifying barriers, finding solutions, sharing learning and setting the pace. It is expected that the overall ambition will be met which is the goal of the local authorities, support services, RSLs and other partners involved in the project.

Question reference: S5W-24279

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its Homelessness in Scotland: 2018 to 2019 statistics on 26 June 2019, what action it is taking to address the increase in the average length of time a household spends in temporary accommodation, from 175 to 180 days in the last year.

While temporary accommodation provides an important safety net in emergency situations, we want the time anyone has to spend there to be as short as possible. That is why we have agreed jointly with COSLA to support local authorities to transition to a system of rapid rehousing and Housing First by default, ensuring that people facing homelessness are supported back to a settled home that meets their needs as soon as possible.

When temporary accommodation is needed, it is important that it is of good quality which is why we will introduce standards for temporary accommodation and extend the seven day restriction on time spent in unsuitable temporary accommodation to all people experiencing homelessness.

We are working with all 32 Local Authorities through their Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans which set out how each local authority intends to implement and transition to a rapid rehousing and Housing First approach to reduce the amount of temporary accommodation being used and the length of stay in there. Implementation of these plans began in April 2019 and the Scottish Government has made £24m available to support implementation over the next 3 years.