Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee
Housing to 2040
Background
Central to the Committee’s work on housing is a focus on ensuring that Scotland has the homes to meet current and future need and that those homes are built in the right places and to the right standards.
The Scottish Government sets out its ambitions for housing in Housing to 2040 and the Committee’s scrutiny will focus on the content and aims of that strategy.
The Committee will focus on the following themes:
• Building enough homes or bringing enough homes back into use to meet Scotland’s current and future housing needs
• Building homes with a focus on placemaking
• Creating and sustaining a mix of housing that is financially and physically accessible to all
• Building homes that provide for affordable warmth and zero emissions
• Ensuring that new and existing homes are safe and of a high quality
In looking at these themes, alongside the Housing to 2040 plan the Committee will continue to work on the following issues.
Beyond those areas the Committee also expects to consider a housing bill and the Scottish Government’s climate change plan.
The delivery of the affordable housing supply programme
The Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) comprises a range of funding mechanisms to enable affordable housing providers to deliver homes for social rent, mid-market rent, and low-cost home ownership in communities across Scotland to support local authorities’ Local Housing Strategies.
The Committee held sessions on this programme in the early part of the session to see how effective it was in delivering affordable homes to meet Scotland’s housing needs. This was also the focus of the Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny in 2022.
The Committee has expressed concerns about the viability of the affordable housing supply programme in the context of the increasing costs associated with house building.
The Committee also expressed concern about the capacity for social landlords to deliver new affordable homes whilst also delivering on retrofitting and maintaining existing stock.
The Committee also pressed the Scottish Government to progress work on alternative financing models to support the delivery of affordable homes.
The Committee took evidence on this issue as part of its pre-budget scrutiny at its meetings on:
• 6th September 2022
• 27th September 2022
The Committee wrote to the Scottish Government reflecting on the evidence taken on the affordable housing supply programme.
• Correspondence from the Committee
The Scottish Government responded as follows.
• Correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government
The Committee considered explored the Scottish Government’s response with the former Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government at its meeting on 17 January 2023.
The Committee will return to look at this issue in the context of its scrutiny of Housing to 2040.
Retrofitting of housing for net zero
Homes in Scotland account for around 13% of Scotland’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Therefore, to meet the of target of reducing emissions by 70% by 2030, and the net zero target by 2045, Scotland’s homes will need to become significantly more energy efficient and use zero or almost zero carbon heating sources.
Earlier in the session the Committee held sessions with stakeholders on retrofitting as well as a committee debate in the chamber.
• 30 November 2021
• Chamber Debate 18 January 2022
The Committee plans to follow this issue throughout the session. Of particular concern to the Committee, is the lack of urgency in progressing this issue by the Scottish Government. The Committee has expressed concern about the lack of funding being made available to deliver on retrofitting and the lack of public awareness of what will be required of them.
The Committee will pursue this work in the context of its scrutiny of the climate change plan as well as Housing to 2040.
Damp and mould in the rental sector
The issue of damp and mould in social and private rented housing has been one that has prompted considerable public concern and media interest following the death of two-year old Awaab Ishak who tragically died in 2020 as a result of a severe respiratory condition due to prolonged exposure to mould in his home.
Mindful of that concern the Committee agreed to consider the extent of the problem in Scotland and the adequacy of the regulatory framework.
The Committee held two evidence sessions on the issue.
• 2 May 2023
• 16 May 2023
The Committee also wrote to the Scottish Government following those sessions:
• Correspondence to the Minister for Housing
The Committee intends to continue to follow up on this issue throughout the session.
Cladding
On 10 May 2022 the Committee held an evidence session with stakeholders on the Building (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022. The Committee subsequently heard from the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Right, on 17 May 2022. In the context of those sessions the Committee explored wider issues around building safety.
Following this the Committee wrote to the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights highlighting issues it wanted further information on.
A copy of that letter as well as the response can be found at the link below
• Correspondence on building safety
The Committee also agreed that it would hold an annual session on building safety. In particular, the Committee expressed an interest in pursuing the following issues:
• progress with the Single Building Assessment Pilot Programme
• the response to the zero valuation of flats in blocks with potentially flammable cladding systems, stemming from the EWS1 process
• the Scottish safer buildings accord
• the role of the building standards compliance manager
The Committee held sessions on 18 April 2023 and 30 May 2023 following up on these issues.
The Committee followed that up with a letter to the Minister for Housing. The Minister’s response on 10 July can be found below:
• Letter from the Minister for Housing
The Committee will continue to pursue this issue throughout the session.
The Minimum All Tenure Housing Land Requirement and Housing Needs Demand Assessment tool
In its report on the original draft of NPF4 the Committee noted the concerns of housebuilders about the Minimum All-Tenure Housing Land Requirement (MATHLR) and asked that the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment (HNDA) tool be reviewed, with details provided about how MATHLR figures work alongside the policies set out in Housing to 2040.
In response to the Committee's report the Scottish Government emphasised its ongoing support for MATHLR and HNDA.
In evidence to the Committee on the revised draft NPF4 Homes for Scotland argued that the HNDA tool used as the basis for MATHLR figures underestimates housing needs as it only considers a limited number of factors.
Planning Democracy, however, argued that experience of the system shows that the HNDA tool overestimates housing need, requiring planning authorities to over-allocate sites for housing in Local Development Plans. Planning Democracy made clear to the Committee their position was not because of any opposition it had to building new housing, but rather that allocating land based on HNDA will slow down land use which supports progressive policies on climate change and biodiversity.
While the Minister committed to keeping MATHLR and HNDA under review and to continuing to discuss them with stakeholders, the Committee noted in its report of the revised draft NPF4 that it would undertake further work on these issues.
Empty Homes
The previous Local Government and Communities Committee undertook a short inquiry into empty homes in 2019. Full details are on the Committee’s webpage.
The Scottish Government is currently undertaking an audit of empty homes.
The Committee intends to return to consider this issue once the audit has been published.
Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act
Information on the Committee’s scrutiny of the Act and subsequent regulations can be accessed via the link below.
Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act
The Committee will consider the latest set of regulations under this Act at its meeting on 5 September 2023.