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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.

Individuals who intend to marry can currently choose to be designated in the register of marriages as either ‘bride’ or ‘bridegroom’ or they can choose that no designation be entered for them in that register. An extract from the marriage register (a marriage certificate) reflects the content of the register of marriages.

Under the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965, the statutory registers of births, deaths and marriages may be altered only where authorised by that, or another Act. Corrections to these registers are permitted in limited circumstances, such as when a clerical error is identified or, in the case of the register of births, a decree of parentage has established a child’s father.

As I confirmed in my answer to the member’s question S6W-00609, the Registrar General for Scotland and the Scottish Government will, when time permits, write to key stakeholders to seek their views on what changes may be required to the marriage notice form for future couples. The answer to question S6W-00609 provided on 22 June 2021 is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

We have no plans, in advance of that work, to consult on changes to the legislative arrangements for correcting the register of marriages.

Housing to 2040, Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy, was published in March 2021 following extensive consultation across the country. The Scottish Government is now working with our partners to develop the detailed plans necessary to deliver the vision set out in Housing to 2040. We have committed to setting up a governance process and a monitoring framework so that we and others can assess progress towards the vision and be held accountable. We will establish that process and framework later this year following discussions with key stakeholders .

In response to the pandemic the Scottish Government brought in a number of emergency legislative changes including the pre-action requirements that private landlords must undertake before applying to the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) to evict a tenant on the grounds of rent arrears. We recognise the value of maintaining this additional protection to ensure private landlords work with their tenants to do all they can to sustain the tenancy where rent arrears have arisen. That is why we committed in Housing to 2040 to set out as part of a new Rented Sector Strategy for the establishment of permanent pre-action protocols in the private rented sector, bringing this tenure in line with current social rented sector provisions.

We are taking steps to extend the current emergency provisions, including the pre-action requirements for rent arrears, through the Coronavirus (Extension and Expiry) (Scotland) Bill 2021 which was introduced and published on 18 June. The Bill, now scrutinised and passed by this Parliament, once enacted will amend the expiry dates of Parts 1 of the Scottish coronavirus Acts to 31 March 2022, meaning the temporary measures in Part 1 of those Acts will be extended for up to six months. The Bill will also enable the Acts to be extended once more, should this be needed to respond further to the pandemic, subject to Parliament’s approval of the required regulations, to 30 September 2022.

In addition, we will consult on a permanence bill, seeking views on making the pre-action requirements permanent, to prevent any gap until that bill is superseded by any future housing bill. We are consulting on the bill over the summer and the Parliament will then scrutinise it after the summer recess.

We are aware of the current shortages of both labour and materials facing parts of the construction sector. We are working with Construction Scotland and others to understand and address the factors behind this, which include the impacts of Covid and EU Exit.

For the pipeline of future affordable housing supply programme projects, we are continuing to closely monitor any issues around workforce shortages in the housebuilding sector. Through local working arrangements, Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with housing partners and are kept appraised of concerns.

Scottish Government is already taking action through:

Apprenticeships

During 2020-21 we supported 5,033 people into modern apprenticeships in the construction sector.

We have introduced an enhanced Adopt an Apprentice programme, to encourage employers to recruit and retain apprentices supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and the economy.

In December 2020, the Scottish Government introduced a £15 million Apprenticeship Employer Grant (AEG) as a short term, sharp stimulus response to the pandemic.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland to maximise apprenticeships and prioritise a recovery that protects and creates jobs and supports our young people.

Upskilling and Retraining through NTTF

In the last year, the National Transition Training Fund (NTTF) has funded a range of support through Scotland’s colleges and universities to provide upskilling and retraining support for both unemployed people and those already in the workforce.

NTTF will continue in 2021-22 and we will continue to develop the support available to the sector to meet new and emerging skills demands.

We will continue to work with the sector through our Skills agency, Skills Development Scotland, to ensure we’re supporting the sector to address skills shortages.

Supporting Transition to net Zero

A key aspect of future training and skills development will be the support to deliver our net zero ambitions, with heat in buildings a critical element.

Training in Energy Efficiency Transition Support and Heat Pump Training alongside training by the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre on Passivhaus construction has been successfully delivered.

The Scottish Government and the Fair Work Convention are taking action to embed Fair Work in the sector to help attract and retain workers and support skills.

Construction is a core sector of the Scottish economy which supports 143,000 jobs across Scotland. The report shows this is projected to continue to grow and recognises the need for a skilled workforce to support the sector.

Scottish Government is already taking action through:

Apprenticeships

During 2020-21 we supported 5,033 people into modern apprenticeships in the construction sector.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland to maximise apprenticeships and prioritise a recovery that protects and creates jobs and supports our young people.

Upskilling and Retraining through NTTF

NTTF will continue in 2021-22 and we will continue to develop the support available to the sector to meet new and emerging skills demands.

We will continue to work with the sector through our Skills agency, Skills Development Scotland, to ensure we’re supporting the sector to address skills shortages.

Supporting Transition to net Zero

A key aspect of future training and skills development will be the support to deliver our net zero ambitions, with heat in buildings a critical element.

The Scottish Government and the Fair Work Convention are taking action to embed Fair Work in the sector to help attract and retain workers and support skills.

The marriage notice (M10 form), or notice of intention to marry, is set out in a statutory instrument made by the Registrar General for Scotland, or their deputy, with the consent of the Scottish Ministers. Each party to the intended marriage can select in their marriage notice whether they should be designated in the marriage register as a bride or a bridegroom or they can choose for no designation to be entered.

The Registrar General and the Scottish Government will, when time permits, write to key stakeholders to seek their views on what changes may be required to the marriage notice.

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 made a number of changes to the law on marriage and civil partnership, including in particular to allow same sex couples to marry. The marriage notice form and other registration forms were amended by the Registrar General for Scotland with consent of the Scottish Ministers, in consequence of these changes, by the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Prescribed Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2014.

We wrote to 19 organisations, including three LGBTI organisations, to seek their views on the proposed changes to the registration forms before the Regulations were made. There were 18 responses to that consultation. These responses were not published.

I would be happy to write to the member with further information about this consultation and the outcomes, if desired.

No one in Scotland should have to sleep rough and this is a commitment we reiterated in our updated Ending Homelessness Together action plan, published with COSLA in October 2020.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our priority has been to keep people safe and housing people without a settled home in emergency accommodation has been a public health imperative. In partnership with local authorities and the third sector, our quick and effective response dramatically reduced the number of people sleeping rough. We will continue to build on that success as restrictions lift.

In our Ending Homeless Together action plan we committed to modifying night shelter provision with a view to ending the use of night shelter and dormitory style provision in future. In winter 2020-21, we contributed to the cost of rapid rehousing welcome centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The centres offered hotel room accommodation and provided under-one-roof and multi-agency assessment for people at the sharpest end of homelessness. We will work with local authority and third sector partners to ensure there is no return to dormitory style night shelters in the future.

Local authorities are working hard to ensure people move as rapidly as possible through temporary accommodation and into settled accommodation, with the appropriate support. We are investing £37.5 million to support councils to prioritise settled accommodation through the implementation of rapid rehousing transition plans and the upscaling of Housing First for those facing the most challenges.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) provides clear guidance to public bodies on Property acquisition, disposal and management. There is no reference within that guidance to the maximising of receipts from the sale of land but rather a duty for each body subject to the SPFM to consider the most appropriate method for disposal either by:

1. obtaining the best possible price on the open market, or;

2. disposal of the asset at less than Market Value to deliver wider public benefits consistent with the principles of Best Value, or;

3. transfer under the Guidelines for the Transfer of Property within the Scottish Public Sector.

The costs and benefits of disposal via one of these routes will have been determined on a case by case basis when considering the method of disposal by the public body in question and any audit of such a transaction would be undertaken by Audit Scotland as part of their audit work. The duty of Best Value applies to all public bodies in Scotland and is a formal duty on Accountable Officers.

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 sets out the rights for community bodies to seek to acquire rights in any land and property held by a named public body. Guidance has been published both for relevant authorities and community bodies which explains the how any such application is to be handled. The legislation does not comment on whether disposals should be at market value or at a discount. As with all publicly-owned assets, where a disposal is being considered at less than market value, the public body decisions should be consistent with the principles of Best Value.