Short term lets licensing documentation and affordable housing funding pledge: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
1. Could you supply all documentation held by the Scottish Government about the changes to the shortterm lets licensing rules in October 2023, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), briefings, minutes/notes from meetings, analysis, from the last three months?
2. Could you supply all analysis undertaken by or for the Scottish Government about how well it has went and/or the impact it has had on businesses?
3. Out of the £80m pledged by Humza Yousaf on April 26 2023 to affordable, could you supply how much of that has been spent, where it has been spent and a breakdown of this?
Response
In response to point 1 of your request, there were no national changes made to licensing rules in October 2023. Therefore, this is a formal notice under Section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.
In response to point 2 of your request, I enclose a copy of information we hold that we are disclosing to you. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under the following sections of FOISA apply to that information :
- section 38(1)(c) (personal information) I have redacted the names of specific Scottish Government officials where they appear in any of the disclosed information items
- section 25 (information otherwise accessible). Links to these publications are included in the disclosed information
In response to point 3 of your request, the £80 million for acquisitions and voids, split evenly over two years, was announced on 26 April 2024 with the £40 million for 2024-25 formally allocated by local authority area on 10 September 2024 following agreement by Ministers and COSLA.
To 17 February 2025, a total of £11.691 million has been drawn down via payment claims of the £40 million allocated in 2024-2025. The table below is based on management information and provides a breakdown of the actual spend to 17 February by local authority area. Please note that individual lines may not add up exactly to the totals within the table, due to rounding to £0.00 million.
Scottish Government grant is drawn down on receipt of evidenced payment claims and at this point is recorded as actual spend. Some local authorities will draw down their allocations via a single payment claim at the end of financial year once all activity on acquisitions and voids has concluded.
We continue to work with partners to deliver this commitment as part of our wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme management.
|
Local Authority Area |
£40 million Allocation 2024-2025 (£millions) |
Spend to 17 Feb of £40 million Allocation 2024-2025 (£millions) |
|
Aberdeen City |
0.375 |
|
|
Aberdeenshire |
0.173 |
|
|
Angus |
0.066 |
0.066 |
|
Argyll & Bute |
0.135 |
0.135 |
|
City of Edinburgh |
14.882 |
2.070 |
|
Clackmannanshire |
0.173 |
0.173 |
|
Dumfries & Galloway |
0.222 |
|
|
Dundee City |
0.637 |
0.637 |
|
East Ayrshire |
0.122 |
|
|
East Dunbartonshire |
0.224 |
|
|
East Lothian |
0.440 |
|
|
East Renfrewshire |
0.196 |
0.155 |
|
Falkirk |
0.751 |
0.175 |
|
Fife |
1.848 |
1.450 |
|
Glasgow City |
11.544 |
3.310 |
|
Inverclyde |
0.040 |
|
|
Midlothian |
0.471 |
|
|
Moray |
0.369 |
0.215 |
|
na Eilean Siar |
0.082 |
|
|
North Ayrshire |
0.293 |
|
|
North Lanarkshire |
0.673 |
0.673 |
|
Orkney Islands |
0.085 |
|
|
Perth & Kinross |
0.066 |
0.066 |
|
Renfrewshire |
0.168 |
|
|
Scottish Borders |
0.146 |
|
|
Shetland Islands |
0.082 |
|
|
South Ayrshire |
0.301 |
0.301 |
|
South Lanarkshire |
1.724 |
1.724 |
|
Stirling |
0.750 |
0.348 |
|
The Highland Council |
0.653 |
0.193 |
|
West Dunbartonshire |
0.309 |
|
|
West Lothian |
2.001 |
|
|
Total (£millions) |
40.000 |
11.691 |
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG