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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: S6W-26600

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 24 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £97.4 million of cladding remediation funding it has spent to date.

Question reference: S6W-26682

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 24 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can confirm whether (a) all combustible cladding and insulation is banned for use above 11m in height on the buildings captured under the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 and (b) combustible plastic foam insulation and combustible cladding such as high-pressure laminates and metal composite panels using combustible cores can no longer be used on the buildings captured in the scope of the ban.

Question reference: S6W-26978

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 8 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £60 million National Acquisition Programme funding had been spent by the end of the 2023-24 financial year, and how many social homes this funding delivered, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-26685

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to any conversations that it has had with the wider sector, what its current understanding is of any risks associated with PAS 9980 as a methodology for fire risk appraisal of external wall and cladding construction in the context of the current ban on combustible façade materials in Scotland.

As part of the preparation of the SBA (Single Building Assessment process) Scottish Government has had conversations with the wider sector, including Fire Engineers and Assessors where we have discussed the need for a FRAEW (Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall).

When assessing an existing building’s EWS (External wall system), it is noted that existing buildings cannot be expected to meet modern Building Regulation standards for risk to human life as these buildings were built during a time when less onerous Building Regulations were in force. The PAS 9980 will be used by assessors to make an informed expert decision of whether or not the EWS is a low, medium or high risk and dictate from this whether or not the current build up is tolerable, and no further remediation is required, or the risk is intolerable and therefore remediation should be undertaken.

The aim of a SBA is not to bring a building into compliance with current Building Regulations, but to ensure that the risk to building occupants is reduced to a tolerable level. The focus of the remediation is to follow the recommendations in the SBA in how to bring the relevant parts of the building to either a low, or tolerable risk level. Where large areas of the façade are being remediated, alterations will be required to comply with current (fire) building regulations including the use of acceptable materials. To note that the current ban applies to any new building warrant applications only.

Question reference: S6W-26601

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it anticipates that the recommendations of the Single Building Assessment Task and Finish Group will be published.

Question reference: S6W-26683

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any current requirements for anyone involved in the construction of new schools to notify local authorities when BS 8414 has been used as a route to compliance for combustible façade materials.

If an application for a building warrant is made which proposes the use of an external wall cladding system assessed in accordance with BR 135 when tested to BS 8414 as a means of compliance, then this information would be stated within the application. Local authority verifiers would consider the application on that basis.

In accordance with the Section 34 letter (Building standards - notification of application for building warrant: section 2.0 fire: letter to local authority verifiers - 31 October 2023) , local authority verifiers have to notify the Scottish Government’s Building Standards Division if any application is made that is supported by a BS 8414 test and BR 135 assessment report. To date, we have received no such notifications for any school building.

Question reference: S6W-26596

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide clarification of what it means for a building to be "on a pathway to a single building assessment".

Each entry on the pilot programme within scope of the SBA as set out in the legislation will proceed to the pathway to assessment through written confirmation to owners from either a developer or, in the case of orphan buildings, government, that the property will either have a pilot SBA refreshed or topped up to ensure it complies with the new SBA specification or that an SBA will be commissioned using the new specification.

Question reference: S6W-26684

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the minutes of any meetings of the Single Building Assessment Task and Finish Group.

Question reference: S6W-26386

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms it is considering for making a determination in instances where there is disagreement over whether cladding remediation works are within scope following a single building assessment.

The Single Building Assessment (SBA) report will detail any risk to human life that is (directly or indirectly) created or exacerbated by the building’s external wall cladding system, and what work (if any) is needed to eliminate or mitigate any risk of that kind which is identified. We are working with developers now to determine the terms and scope of the Scottish Safer Building Developer Remediation Contract to ensure a shared understanding of responsibilities in the assessment of remediation of buildings. We will consider dispute resolution as part of ongoing work.

Question reference: S6O-03339

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the mental health of frontline police officers, in light of reports that reductions in the number of police officers is putting increasing pressure on the service.