National Acquisition Programme data: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Information requested
1. Out of the National Acquisition Programme, how much of the £60m announced in July 2023 has been spent and how many homes have been put back into use due to it?
2. Out of the extra £80m announced in April 2024, how much of it has been spent, and how many homes have been brought back into use?
https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/scottish-government-boosts-empty-homes-budget-following-196m-housebuilding-cut- 86258#:~:text=Mr%20Yousaf%20said%20the%20money,and%20delivered%201%2C000%20affordable%20homes.
3. Could you supply all documentation held, including policy notes, analysis and correspondence, about the National Acquisition Programme, from the last three months?
Response
1. Out of the National Acquisition Programme, how much of the £60m announced in July 2023 has been spent and how many homes have been put back into use due to it?
Between April 2023 and March 2024, £83.146 million was spent through the National Acquisition Programme. A detailed breakdown of spend and homes acquired through the Programme by local authority area can be found in the following Parliamentary Questions answered in May 2024 and available on the Scottish Parliament website. – SW6-26978, SW6-27110, SW6-27112 and SW6-27113.
Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy. This is an absolute exemption and therefore not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
2. Out of the extra £80m announced in April 2024, how much of it has been spent, and how many homes have been brought back into use?
The answer to your question is the £80 million new funding for acquisitions which was announced in April 2024 includes up to £40 million this year, and a further £40 million next year. Details on how the £40 million will be delivered and allocated in 2024-2025 are currently being discussed with COSLA.
3. Could you supply all documentation held, including policy notes, analysis and correspondence, about the National Acquisition Programme, from the last three months?
I enclose a copy of some of the information your have requested. The attached document contains extracts from emails between officials concerning the National Acquisition Programme during the timeframe specified. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested in relation to question 3 because an exemption under section 30(b)(ii) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why this exemption applies is explained in the Annex to this letter.
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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