A series of meetings, both at a political and official level, are underway to engage with local authorities on the Scottish Government’s response to the recommendations of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group. We are aware that there are some areas of the country where this work is less urgent, such as local authorities where registered social landlords (RSLs) have a low supply of stock or the type of stock is not in demand.

We are working with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and the Glasgow West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations and other partners to identify ways to target action on the local authorities with the greatest temporary accommodation pressures, including some stock transfer authorities. We will report on outcomes from these discussions in due course.

As stated in the answer to S6W-20375 on 16 August 2023, the national acquisition programme will be run as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme which aligns with the Scottish Government’s Principles for Programme and Project Management.

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

The national acquisition programme will be funded from existing Resource Planning Assumptions (RPAs) and it will be for local authorities to consider and assess how much of their 2023-24 RPAs they target towards property acquisitions.

The national acquisition programme is expected to be informed by local authority Local Housing Strategies and Strategic Housing Investment Plans. In preparing their Local Housing Strategies, local authorities should ensure that equality is central to housing and housing service delivery and be underpinned by an Equalities Impact Assessment which should inform the priorities and objectives set out in the Local Housing Strategy, including local housing investment priorities. In preparing their Strategic Housing Investment Plans, local authorities should draw on the finding from their Equalities Impact Assessment when considering the implications flowing from the translation of strategic aims into housing priorities.

We have not yet set key performance indicators for the national acquisition programme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17723 on 17 May 2023. Parliament will be updated once the review has completed. 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 .

The policy review work is being led by civil servants as part of their overall role of policy development and operational delivery. As such there are no costs that have been incurred. Two full-time equivalent policy team officials are working on the review as part of their wider duties with support from other officials, including analysts, as required.

All applications to HOSF are tested for eligibility for both Mortgage to Rent (MtR) and Mortgage to Shared Equity (MtSE). Due to the circumstances of individuals there have been no Mortgage to Shared Equity cases since 2015, in particular many applicants have high levels of complex unsecured debts and low earnings.

The following table shows the number of applications received during each quarter since April 2022 and the number of applications successfully completed. Mortgage to Rent is a voluntary scheme and participation from applicants, lenders, trustees and social landlords is required for a case to succeed.

The following table shows the average processing times for the cases which settled during each quarter since April 2022 and how many of those were processed within the requested timescales.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10237 on 7 September 2022. 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 .