Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-04585

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Aberdeenshire Council regarding the reported financial pressures that it is experiencing.

Question reference: S6W-36492

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, what steps it is taking to encourage (a) social and (b) private landlords to explore all options before a household with children faces eviction proceedings.

There are robust measures in place in Scotland to help all social and private sector tenants in rent arrears, including those with children, to sustain their tenancy. Pre-action requirements/protocols for tenants facing eviction for rent arrears are in place in both the social and private rented sectors. This ensures that social landlords have exhausted all attempts to resolve rent arrears with the tenant before taking action to evict and that tenants in rent arrears in the private rented sector are provided with information and sign-posted to support to sustain their tenancy wherever possible.

Tenancy sustainment is also a key outcome which social landlords must aim to achieve for their tenants and other customers as part of the Scottish Social Housing Charter. This includes tenants who may be in, or at risk of falling into, arrears with their rent and who may need support to maintain their tenancy. The Scottish Housing Regulator monitors social landlord performance against the standards and outcomes in the Social Housing Charter on an annual basis to help drive up performance.

We have strengthened the protection against eviction for tenants in the private rented sector. In line with the social rented sector, all grounds for eviction are now discretionary. This enables the First-tier Tribunal to consider the specific circumstances of each individual case, including how an eviction order would affect both the tenant and the landlord, before making a decision on whether an eviction order should be issued.

We have also committed to further rented sector reform and the Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024 includes provisions to further strengthen eviction protections in both the private and social rented sectors by placing a duty on the Court and Tribunal to always consider whether there should be a delay to the enforcement of an eviction order granted on rent arrears grounds based on the circumstances of the individual case.

Question reference: S6W-36491

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 22 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations in the Shelter Scotland report, In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation, what steps it is taking to prevent the eviction of households with children due to rent arrears.

Scotland has some of the strongest legal protections from eviction in the UK. Pre-action requirements/protocols for tenants facing eviction for rent arrears are in place in both the social and private rented sectors. This ensures that social landlords have exhausted all attempts to resolve rent arrears with the tenant before taking action to evict and that tenants in rent arrears in the private rented sector are provided with information and sign-posted to support to sustain their tenancy, wherever possible.

In 2025-26 we are making over £97m available to local authorities to spend on Discretionary Housing Payments, an increase of nearly £7m over 2024-25. This includes £79.7m to fully mitigate the bedroom tax, helping over 94,000 households in Scotland sustain their tenancies, 14,000 of which are families with over 20,500 children and over £9.4m to mitigate the UK Government’s benefit cap as fully as possible within devolved powers, supporting around 3,000 families, with almost 10,000 children.

We have also committed to further rented sector reform and the Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024 includes provisions to further strengthen eviction protections in both the private and social rented sectors by placing a duty on the Court and Tribunal to always consider whether there should be a delay to the enforcement of an eviction order granted on rent arrears grounds based on the circumstances of the individual case.

In addition, to help improve housing outcomes for domestic abuse victims and their children, the Bill also introduces a duty on social landlords to fully consider domestic abuse and to support individuals, where domestic abuse is causing financial arrears, in a specialised manner before any legal action to recover possession of a property on rent arrears grounds can begin.

Question reference: S6O-04547

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its international development work is supporting the humanitarian response in Palestine.

Question reference: S6O-04457

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported claims that policing of pro-Palestinian rallies and demonstrations has been disproportionate and heavy-handed.

Question reference: S6O-04415

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding what support can be provided to migrant workers in the agricultural sector in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-34352

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on how many people with no recourse to public funds have received Best Start Foods payments.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods applications and payments. Information on the number of awards made to people with no recourse to public funds is not held within the system used to process applications and therefore not available for publication.

The latest Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods Payment official statistics publication can be found at: .

Question reference: S6O-04346

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its work on international development and support for humanitarian aid is being used to ensure the safety and security of those who are fleeing war and persecution.

Question reference: S6O-04264

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how its draft Budget 2025-26 will help enable individuals and communities to access justice.

Question reference: S6O-04243

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how its draft Budget 2025-26 will contribute towards promoting anti-racism campaigns and initiatives.

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