Part of General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 25 September 2025.
Màiri McAllan
Scottish National Party
No, I would not agree with that characterisation. Breaches of statutory obligations by councils are not acceptable. That is exactly why I am working with local authorities—and, in particular, with the top five with the most strained homelessness services—to drive action now.
We drive action with the acquisition fund that the Government has been providing for several years and which, in my statement on 2 September, I doubled to £80 million. That fund is about asking councils to go now, acquire family homes that are on the market and use them to get children out of temporary accommodation. Another instruction that was part of that plan was to ask councils to adopt the guidance from the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers on flipping temporary accommodation—that is, to contact people living in temporary accommodation that is otherwise suitable, except for the fact that it is temporary, and to discuss with the household whether it can be flipped to become their permanent accommodation.
Such measures are about taking action, and they are all backed up by investment over the next four years.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
