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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-18311

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 20 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many times in each year since 2012 have tenants have been charged illegal letting agent fees, also broken down by (a) fee or (b) charge type.

Question reference: S5W-18279

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people newly diagnosed with dementia who are referred for post-diagnostic support have received it in each year since the LDP standard was introduced, and in accordance with it stating that they will receive a minimum one-year support.

Performance data has been published for performance years 2014-15 and 2015-16. In 2014-15, 6,362 people were referred for post-diagnostic support. All of the other information requested is currently on the Scotland Perform’s website, including the equivalent estimated percentage of people newly diagnosed with dementia referred for post-diagnostic support in performance years 2014-15 and 2015-16 https://www.gov.scot/About/Performance/scotPerforms/NHSScotlandperformance/Dementia-LDP . Data for performance year 2013/14 was not of sufficient quality to publish.

Question reference: S5W-18280

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people newly diagnosed with dementia did not receive post-diagnostic support following a referral in each year since the LDP standard was introduced, broken down by the reason for this.

The Scottish Government does not collect or publish this information. The official performance data on the Scotland Perform’s website includes the number of people referred for post-diagnostic support in performance years 2014-15 and 2015-16 and the equivalent estimated percentage of people newly diagnosed with dementia referred for post-diagnostic support in performance years 2014-15 and 2015-16, as well as the percentage of those who were referred who completed the service https://www.gov.scot/About/Performance/scotPerforms/NHSScotlandperformance/Dementia-LDP . Data for performance year 2013/14 was not of sufficient quality to publish. Integration Joint Boards are responsible for designing, commissioning and delivering dementia post-diagnostic services. The Scottish Government wants to go faster to extend post-diagnostic support and we are working with national and local partners to improve the consistency and quality of and access to the service, as well as the quality of data.

Question reference: S5W-18278

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons people newly diagnosed with dementia may not be referred for post-diagnostic support.

The Scottish Government does not collect or publish this information. Integration Joint Boards are responsible for designing, commissioning and delivering dementia post-diagnostic services. The Scottish Government wants to go faster to extend post-diagnostic support and we are working with national and local partners to improve the consistency and quality of and access to the service, as well as the quality of data.

Question reference: S5W-18281

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been newly diagnosed with dementia in each year since the LDP standard was introduced, and what assessment it has made of how many of these were not referred for post-diagnostic support in each year.

The Scottish Government does not collect or publish this information. The Scottish Government published a first report on estimated annual diagnosed incidence of dementia in 2016, commissioned fromNHS National Services Scotland's Information Services Division, showing projected estimates up to 2020, https://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/12/9363/1 . This report is used to contextualise performance data against the LDP Standard. The LDP Standard data is published on the Scotland Performs website for performance years 2014-15 and 2015-16 https://www.gov.scot/About/Performance/scotPerforms/NHSScotlandperformance/Dementia-LDP . Data for performance year 2013/14 was not of sufficient quality to publish. Integration Joint Boards are responsible for designing, commissioning and delivering dementia post-diagnostic services. The Scottish Government wants to go faster to extend post-diagnostic support and we are working with national and local partners to improve the consistency and quality of and access to the service, as well as the quality of data.

Question reference: S5W-18230

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of its £6 million investment in Hearthstone Investments for social housing that was announced in June 2015.

Question reference: S5W-18276

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much has (a) been allocated to and (b) remained unspent from the Empty Homes Loan Fund in each year.

Question reference: S5W-18277

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many loans have been provided to owners through the Empty Homes Loan Fund in each year to help them renovate empty properties, and what the (a) average, (b) highest and (c) total loan value has been in each year.

Question reference: S5W-18273

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 17 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) use and (b) value of properties renovated through the (i) Town Centre Housing Fund and (ii) Empty Homes Loan Fund; how many properties renovated through each fund (A) are and (B) are not classed as affordable, and what information it has on the subsequent rental and sales value of each property that received funding.

All 75 Town Centre Housing Fund units were for affordable housing. The proposed rent levels for these units were requested at application stage and considered during the assessment process, including assumed annual rent increases. No subsequent assessment has been made on the use or value of properties.

All homes renovated with the help of funding from the Empty Homes Loan Fund have been made available for affordable housing either as rentals or homes for sale. Rent levels vary depending on type; social rent, intermediate (mid-market) rent; and the private sector leasing scheme for homeless households. For intermediate rented homes, starting rents are below the current Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate for the area/property size. Sales values are capped at the Scottish Government’s Open Market Shared Equity thresholds for the relevant area.

Question reference: S5W-18181

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 31 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a legal requirement for fire safety measures in common areas and stairwells of blocks of flats.

Legislation already exists with regard to fire safety in common areas.

Regulation 23, as applied by Regulation 24, of the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006 states that duty-holders have an obligation to maintain the common areas and the facilities in the common areas for use by (or protection of) firefighters. This duty is enforced by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

In addition to this, occupiers require to keep common areas clear of combustibles and obstructions. This is covered under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, section 93.

Work is ongoing under the auspices of the ‘Building and Fire Safety: Ministerial Working Group’, to ensure that there is a clear process in place regarding the storage, removal and enforcement of combustible materials in common areas, as it relates to the above noted legislation.