- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, of the 114,869 premises to be connected under the R100 scheme, how many will be connected with gigabit-capable broadband.
Answer
Of the 114,869 premises currently expected to be connected through the R100 contracts, only 1,600 will be connected through Fibre To The Cabinet broadband. The remaining 113,269 will be connected with Fibre To The Premises which is a gigabit-capable technology.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has reportedly not sought the input of the short-term let industry advisory group members regarding the implementation update on short-term let regulations, in light of VisitScotland not enabling meetings to resume since the last meeting in October 2023, and whether it will ensure that individual members are not barred from providing input to the list of legislative and non-legislative operational matters.
Answer
The Scottish Government has sought views regarding the implementation update on Short Term Let Licensing from the Short Term Let Industry Advisory Group (IAG). The group most recently met with all members in attendance on 19 January 2024 and subsequently shared further feedback, in addition to that already gathered throughout the development of the scheme. We will continue to work with stakeholders to monitor the operation of the scheme and that is why we have committed to providing an update to Parliament on licensing implementation early this year. I wrote to the Local Government Housing and Planning Committee on 30 Jan 2024 to set out progress we have made to date.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6F-02720 by Humza Yousaf on 18 January 2024, which states that “all homes and businesses in Scotland can currently access a superfast broadband service”, whether it will provide the evidentiary basis for this statement.
Answer
As outlined in response to question S6W-24754 on 6 February 2024, Ofcom’s Connected Nations Report from December 2023 report states that “Starlink [an LEO satellite service] currently delivers nationwide broadband coverage, including in harder-to-reach areas” and that “Ofcom home broadband performance measurements suggest measured speeds on its [Starlink] network average around 100 Mbit/s download and 14 Mbit/s upload.”
The R100 contracts will continue to deliver gigabit-capable connections across Scotland and are expected to conclude in 2028. The R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme also remains available to those beyond the reach of commercial and R100 contract build, offering up to £5,000 with which to secure, as a minimum, a superfast broadband connection.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are 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 .
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the average time taken to determine a major housing development application has been in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.
Answer
The average time taken to determine planning applications for major housing developments is provided Table 1.
Table 1 - Major housing applications not subject to a processing agreement |
| | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 |
Planning Authority | Overall average time (weeks) | Overall average time (weeks) | Overall average time (weeks) |
Aberdeen City | n/a | 28.1 | 45.9 |
Aberdeenshire | 17.0 | 38.4 | n/a |
Angus | 22.9 | n/a | 36.1 |
Argyll and Bute | 46.6 | 76.3 | 19.5 |
Cairngorms National Park | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Clackmannanshire | 6.4 | 43.4 | 514.1 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 26.1 | 31.2 | 44.0 |
Dundee City | 15.0 | 25.7 | 46.7 |
East Ayrshire | 42.1 | 87.9 | 94.1 |
East Dunbartonshire | 11.1 | 19.9 | 53.4 |
East Lothian | 8.9 | 8.0 | 7.0 |
East Renfrewshire | 59.7 | 31.4 | 59.7 |
City of Edinburgh | 50.1 | 21.6 | 15.9 |
Falkirk | n/a | 92.0 | 104.9 |
Fife | 16.3 | 55.4 | 32.6 |
Glasgow City | 31.9 | 39.7 | 42.3 |
Highland | 82.9 | 118.0 | 31.8 |
Inverclyde | 24.0 | 52.8 | n/a |
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park | n/a | n/a | 66.4 |
Midlothian | 50.2 | 17.0 | 99.3 |
Moray | n/a | n/a | 12.7 |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | n/a | 50.0 | 9.4 |
North Ayrshire | 14.1 | n/a | 9.6 |
North Lanarkshire | 32.6 | 52.8 | 28.3 |
Orkney Islands | 20.3 | n/a | n/a |
Perth and Kinross | 18.6 | 40.3 | n/a |
Renfrewshire | 7.4 | 14.6 | 42.6 |
Scottish Borders | n/a | 19.7 | 20.9 |
Shetland Islands | n/a | 45.4 | n/a |
South Ayrshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
South Lanarkshire | 51.9 | 62.3 | 130.9 |
Stirling | 109.6 | 124.7 | n/a |
West Dunbartonshire | 13.4 | 10.3 | 8.0 |
West Lothian | 66.7 | 137.0 | 59.7 |
SCOTLAND | 39.3 | 54.3 | 54.8 |
Note: Figures for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22 were impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and this should be borne in mind when comparing these to other years.
The figures in Table 1 do not include major housing applications subject to a processing agreement with the local authority. Where major housing applications were subject to a processing agreement, the percentage of applications where the agreed timescale was met, is set out in Table 2.
Table 2 - Major housing applications subject to a processing agreement |
| | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 |
Planning Authority | % determined within agreed timescales | % determined within agreed timescales | % determined within agreed timescales |
Aberdeen City | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Aberdeenshire | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Angus | 0.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Argyll and Bute | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Cairngorms National Park | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Clackmannanshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Dumfries and Galloway | n/a | 100.0% | n/a |
Dundee City | n/a | n/a | n/a |
East Ayrshire | n/a | 100.0% | n/a |
East Dunbartonshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
East Lothian | 100.0% | n/a | 100.0% |
East Renfrewshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
City of Edinburgh | 50.0% | 0.0% | 20.0% |
Falkirk | 100.0% | n/a | 50.0% |
Fife | 50.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Glasgow City | 50.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Highland | 33.3% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Inverclyde | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Midlothian | 0.0% | 0.0% | n/a |
Moray | 33.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Na h-Eileanan Siar | n/a | n/a | n/a |
North Ayrshire | 100.0% | n/a | 33.3% |
North Lanarkshire | 100.0% | 33.3% | 33.3% |
Orkney Islands | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Perth and Kinross | 100.0% | 66.7% | 100.0% |
Renfrewshire | n/a | 0.0% | 100.0% |
Scottish Borders | 100.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% |
Shetland Islands | n/a | n/a | n/a |
South Ayrshire | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
South Lanarkshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Stirling | 0.0% | n/a | n/a |
West Dunbartonshire | n/a | n/a | n/a |
West Lothian | 0.0% | 50.0% | 50.0% |
SCOTLAND | 63.4% | 48.9% | 54.5% |
Planning application statistics are published on a 6 monthly basis. Further information is available on the Scottish Government website at: https://www.gov.scot/collections/planning-statistics/
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many decisions on current major housing development applications (a) are outstanding and (b) have exceeded the 16-week statutory target for such applications, broken down by local authority.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information. However, this information could be obtained from individual planning authorities.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some people buying a home through the New Supply Shared Equity scheme have experienced financial uncertainty, including by having to reapply for a mortgage at a time of higher interest rates, as a result of extensive delays to The Victoria development in Glasgow.
Answer
The Scottish Government sympathises with those who are experiencing financial uncertainty as a result of delays in this development, either due to a change in personal circumstances or having to arrange a new mortgage agreement. We are aware that the increase in mortgage rates will make it more difficult for many purchasers across the housing market to both obtain mortgage lending or access it due to a decreased number of products available, even with the financial assistance available through New Supply Shared Equity.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-03002 by Michael Matheson on 24 January 2024, when the National Community Hospital Group was first established; what the membership of the group is; when it last met, and what was discussed.
Answer
The Community Hospital group has met in its current format since June 2023. The membership comprises professional advisors, NHS and HSCP clinicians, managers and leaders, and Scottish Government officials. It last met on 24 January 2024. The attendees discussed ongoing improvement work in different health board areas, and time was allocated for collaboration and networking to facilitate sharing of experience and good practice across Scottish community hospital settings.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what correspondence it has had with (a) Sanctuary and (b) Cruden regarding the reportedly extensive delays to The Victoria development in Glasgow.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not had any correspondence with Sanctuary or Cruden regarding delays to The Victoria development in Glasgow. Glasgow City Council receives funding for its affordable housing supply programme (AHSP) from the Scottish Government through the Transfer of Management of Development Funding (TMDF) arrangement. Working in partnership with local housing providers, the Council is responsible for the management and delivery of the housing programme, which includes The Victoria development, on behalf of Scottish Ministers.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what powers it has to ensure that (a) social renters, (b) disabled people, (c) members of the Armed Forces, (d) veterans and (e) other people who are waiting for new homes at The Victoria development in Glasgow are compensated for their wait.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not have any powers to compensate those waiting for affordable housing for any delay that may occur in completion of any development.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 7 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many enquiries relating to accessing the Home Owners' Support Fund it has received in each of the last 12 months.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10243 on 7 September 2022. The Scottish Government does not collect data on the number of enquiries relating to the Home Owners Support Fund (HOSF).
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are 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 .