- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 20 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the Scottish Futures Trust's current role is in the subsidy and provision of build-to-rent homes, and how this differs from its previous role.
Answer
The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is a partner in a build-to-rent joint venture with Edinburgh City Council called “Edinburgh Living” which is providing mid-market rent properties and market rent homes across the city. To date, more than 250 families have moved into quality affordable homes with the long-term aim to provide 1,500 new mid-market rent and market rent homes over the next few years.
In 2017, the Scottish Government put in place a package of measures to support the growth of the Build to Rent Sector in Scotland. That package included a Rental Income Guarantee Scheme and SFT was appointed by Scottish Government to manage applications to the Scheme. However, no formal application was made to the Scheme in three and a half years and the Scheme was closed. The BtR sector is now growing without further Scottish Government intervention.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 July 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 20 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides to Build to Rent developers and operators, and from which budget line.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not presently provide funding specifically for Build to Rent developers and operators, and therefore there is no budget line allocated for this purpose.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how its affordable housing subsidy will respond to the shortages of materials and price increases that were recently reported by the Federation of Master Builders.
Answer
The Affordable Housing Supply Programme housing subsidy is flexible and is able to respond to the challenges reported recently by the Federation of Master Builders. In this respect, the amount of grant funding that individual projects require continues to be a decision for Registered Social Landlords and local authorities which – as part of the application process – are required to self-certify that the grant that they are requesting is the minimum necessary to allow a project to proceed once homes are designed and tender prices have been received. The amount of grant requested is then compared with the applicable Affordable Housing Investment Benchmark to determine how the funding application will be assessed. Projects that can be delivered with grant funding at or below the relevant benchmark follow a streamlined application and approval process, with projects which are seeking grant funding in excess of the relevant benchmark following a more detailed value for money assessment.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a review of the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing Two, in light of research by Changeworks suggesting that it would reduce the total percentage of households in fuel poverty from 38% to 29%.
Answer
The second milestone of Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH2) will help remove poor energy efficiency as a driver for fuel poverty and contribute to achieving our emissions reductions targets. We need to accelerate our ambitions to decarbonise our buildings and, as set out in the Housing to 2040 Route Map, have already committed to bring forward the review of EESSH2 to 2023.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index will take account of the shortages of materials and price increases that were recently reported by the Federation of Master Builders.
Answer
The Scottish Social Housing Tender Price Index measures the movement in the prices paid by clients to contractors for the construction of affordable housing in Scotland. The index is based on analysing the costs in accepted tenders or agreed prices for housing projects. Price increases will be reflected in the tendered costs of developments and will therefore be accounted for in the Index.
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Current Status:
Withdrawn
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Current Status:
Withdrawn
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00072 by Shona Robison on 27 May 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many tenants have received loans from the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund, broken down by the (a) private and (b) social sectors, including registered social landlords and local authority landlords.
Answer
As at 21 June 182 tenants have received, or are in the process of receiving, a loan from the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund, with a combined funding value of £503,148.96. There are a further 7 loan offers in process, with a combined value of £17,470.08
Within the loans paid / in the process of being paid there are 138 private rented sector tenants and 44 social rented sector tenants.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00071 by Shona Robison on 27 May 2021, whether it will provide an update on the total value of loans made under the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund scheme, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
A breakdown of these awards by local authority area is not currently gathered although this information is collected at application entry level and is as follows:
Number of applications per local authority |
Local authority | Total | Social | PRS |
Aberdeen City | 46 | 18 | 28 |
Aberdeenshire | 26 | 13 | 13 |
Angus | 9 | 1 | 8 |
Argyll & Bute | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Clackmannanshire | 11 | 8 | 3 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 18 | 5 | 13 |
Dundee City | 51 | 18 | 33 |
East Ayrshire | 43 | 20 | 23 |
East Dunbartonshire | 2 | 0 | 2 |
East Lothian | 11 | 3 | 8 |
East Renfrewshire | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Edinburgh, City of | 120 | 22 | 98 |
Falkirk | 24 | 7 | 17 |
Fife | 48 | 13 | 35 |
Glasgow City | 164 | 68 | 96 |
Highland | 22 | 3 | 19 |
Inverclyde | 13 | 6 | 7 |
Midlothian | 10 | 3 | 7 |
Moray | 12 | 5 | 7 |
North Ayrshire | 29 | 9 | 20 |
North Lanarkshire | 44 | 15 | 29 |
Orkney Islands | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Perth & Kinross | 41 | 21 | 20 |
Renfrewshire | 28 | 3 | 25 |
Scottish Borders | 10 | 2 | 8 |
Shetland Islands | 2 | 0 | 2 |
South Ayrshire | 29 | 7 | 22 |
South Lanarkshire | 49 | 16 | 33 |
Stirling | 8 | 4 | 4 |
West Dunbartonshire | 24 | 12 | 12 |
West Lothian | 37 | 20 | 17 |
N/A | 10 | 1 | 9 |
Total | 951 | 329 | 622 |
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2021
To ask the Scottish Government which contractor carries out the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund (a) affordability and (b) credit checks, and how much it has cost to (i) operate, and (ii) administer the fund.
Answer
The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund is operated and administered on behalf of the Scottish Government by Energy Savings Trust (EST), using a variation of an existing contract. EST carry out affordability checks based on the income and expenditure information provided by the applicant. Initial credit scoring is undertaken by Credit Safe which is powered by TransUnion. Applicants can appeal the credit scoring and in this process a separate credit score is obtained from Credit Karma. This ensures that any error in the original credit check does not impact final decision-making.
All costs associated with operation and administration of the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund are with EST. These costs form part of a wider contract and are commercial-in-confidence, although these can be shared in confidence with the Finance and Constitution Committee where appropriate.