Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-16961

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15794 by Patrick Harvie on 22 March 2023, on what date SafeDeposits Scotland first implemented the estimated response time, including in relation to automatic replies to emails, of over five working days; when that estimated response time was reduced, and when all “teething issues with system functions” had been resolved and user journeys described as “back to normal”.

The Scottish Government's role is to monitor the Schemes' compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme Regulations 2011 and is not involved in the business operations of the Schemes. The Scottish Government therefore does not hold information on when SafeDeposit Scotland (SDS) first implemented the estimated response time. SDS monthly reporting call centre activity data indicates improvements in response times to both calls and emails from November 2022 onwards. Latest monthly reporting for March 2023 gives the average answer time for calls as 10 seconds, and 8 minutes for emails.

Question reference: S6W-16790

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how its domestic abuse policies are informed by research from the Scottish Sentencing Council.

Several recently published research reports support our understanding of the experiences of those affected by domestic abuse, including 'The sentencing of offences involving domestic abuse’, a literature review published by the Scottish Sentencing Council in June 2022, which can be found at https://www.scottishsentencingcouncil.org.uk/media/2231/20220624-domestic-abuse-final-report-as-published.pdf .

These will play a key role as we further develop and assess our policy approach to tackling domestic abuse. Both the research into the implementation of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 which can be viewed at https://www.gov.scot/publications/domestic-abuse-scotland-act-2018-interim-reporting-requirement/ and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of ‘Constabulary for Scotland’s Thematic Review of Domestic Abuse which can be viewed at https://www.hmics.scot/publications/hmics-thematic-inspection-domestic-abuse-phase-1 found that challenges exist in preventing domestic abuse and protecting those who are vulnerable from its harmful effects.

We will continue to take relevant research and information into account as we work with partners to prevent and address domestic abuse.

Question reference: S6W-16791

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the funding provided, or that is planned to be provided, to each victim organisation through the Victim Centred Approach Fund, in each financial year from 2021-22 to 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-16615

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the remuneration paid to its non-executive directors, inclusive of salaries and expenses, in each year since 2016.

As non-executive directors (NXDs) are not employees of the Scottish Government but appointees of the Permanent Secretary, they are remunerated through the payment of quarterly Fees as opposed salaries. Alongside receiving quarterly Fees for their services, NXDs are also entitled to be reimbursed for relevant travel and accommodation expenses in line with the Scottish Government’s Travel and Subsistence policy.

Remuneration of NXD Fees and Expenses in each year since 2016:

Financial Year	Fees	Expenses
2016-17	£67,006.68	£3,460.17
2017-18	£58,240.00	£4,730.55
2018-19	£40,037.88	£3,462.96
2019-20	£83,812.97	£4,732.22
2020-21	£79,184.75	-
2021-22	£137,044.73	-
2022-23	£148,171.05	£1,283.83

As you will note in the above table, no expense claims were made between 2020-22, this can be explained by the national lockdowns imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-16565

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action can be taken to ensure the safety of staff in the Langhill Clinic psychiatric care unit in Greenock, in light of reports that there have been almost 300 attacks on staff by patients in the last three years.

Question reference: S6W-16560

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s Fiscal Sustainability Report, published in March 2023, in light of reports that Scotland could be facing an annual budget shortfall of £10 billion within 50 years.

The SFC’s Fiscal Sustainability Report is an important contribution to the debate on fiscal sustainability and highlights potential impacts of demographic change on the Scottish public finances over the next fifty years. These challenges are not unique to Scotland, and are prevalent in many high-income countries. However, Scotland lacks a full range of levers to deal with these in the way that other countries can, particularly over migration.

Within the powers at its disposal, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the public finances are on a sustainable trajectory. This will mean growing our economy and by extension our tax base, and embedding delivery and value for money at the heart of our public services. Central to this will be overseeing public service reform, focused on delivering more efficient, person-centred public services. The Fiscal Framework review will also be vital and must ensure the Scottish Government and Parliament has the necessary powers to manage the risks we face within our devolved responsibilities, and to support economic recovery. The Scottish Government’s approach to managing the public finances over the medium-term is set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, due to be published in May 2023.

In 2023 we will also launch a new Talent Attraction and Migration Service for Scotland, and publish an Addressing Depopulation Action Plan. And we will continue to press the UK Government to make the vital immigration reforms required to meet Scotland’s needs.

While the Scottish Government will continue to manage the public finances diligently with the powers we have, it is our view that the current constitutional settlement is insufficient to properly tackle the long-term challenges that Scotland faces. Ultimately, Scotland must be independent with full control over the economy and powers over migration to secure the stability of our public finances.

Question reference: S6W-16516

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of food crime have been reported to Food Standards Scotland through the (a) Scottish Food Crime Hotline and (b) online form, in each year since 2018, and how many of those reports have been investigated.

Question reference: S6W-16861

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the housing statistics quarterly update for March 2023, which found that there were 19,227 starts in the year to end September 2022, a decrease of 12% (2,580 homes) from the 21,807 starts in the previous year, and 24% (6,047 homes) below the 25,283 homes started in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic year to end September 2019.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact on housing delivery of the ongoing challenges with price inflation, materials and labour in the construction sector and is working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate this where possible.

We are pleased that housebuilding completions in the latest year to end September 2022 are at their highest annual rate since 2008, up 10% on the previous year, to 22,905 homes. We are also pleased that the number of affordable homes delivered in Scotland in the latest year to end December 2022 is above the pre-pandemic year 2019, and that Scotland continues to lead the way in the delivery of affordable housing across the UK with 118,124 affordable homes delivered from April 2007 to December 2022, and 83,291 of these for social rent.

Question reference: S6W-16962

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide any data that it holds regarding response times by SafeDeposits Scotland to its customers.

SafeDeposits Scotland has a duty to provide a quarterly performance report of the scheme’s performance measured against the key performance indicators (KPIs) in the Schedule to the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011 .

The latest quarterly performance report indicates all KPIs have been met, with the average call response time was 12 seconds and email response time was 8 minutes.

Question reference: S6W-17105

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has, in the last two years, been made aware of any changes to SafeDeposits Scotland’s scheme rules, and, if so, what these changes were, and (a) when and (b) for what reason any such changes were made.

A review of the tenancy deposit schemes was undertaken at the end of 2018. It was clear from the findings that the current regulations continued to provide a robust regulatory and operational framework.

Following the review a number of revisions to the operating procedures were made under The Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 . The schemes submitted revised procedures in October 2019 and were reapproved in November 2019.

There have been no further significant changes to the revised scheme or original proposal referred to the Scottish Government for approval. Any considered changes would be discussed as part of routine monitoring discussions.

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