Chamber and committees

Applications from Registered Social Landlords for grant funding through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme at tender stage contain information on any projected rent levels at the date of completion which are more than 5% above the relevant social rent benchmark published by the Scottish Government. Information on the Registered Social Landlords’ applications which were approved began to be collected in 2018-19 as follows:

While it is up to individual social landlords to strike the best balance between rent levels and meeting the housing needs of local communities, rents for social rented homes should not be set without regard to the importance of affordability for tenants. The Scottish Government therefore considers the proposed rents for Registered Social Landlord social rented homes at the point of first let as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme grant assessment process

Applications from Registered Social Landlords for grant funding to deliver projects through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme at tender stage contain information on any projected rent levels at the date of completion which are more than 5% above the relevant social rent benchmark published by the Scottish Government.

Information on the number of tender applications which were approved which contained Registered Social Landlord projected rent levels at the point of completion which exceeded the relevant social rent benchmark by more than 5% began to be collected in 2018-19 as follows:

Original Covid-19: Guidance on Self-directed Support Options 1 and 2 was published July 2020.

Work is currently underway to refresh the guidance, which supports Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnership staff who assess, approve and administer social work and social care and support (including carer support), and approve Self-directed Support (SDS) budgets.

The SDS Covid-19 Guidance will remain in place for the duration of the pandemic, to be reviewed by Scottish Ministers at the appropriate time.

It is vitally important that we learn from the experiences we have had during the pandemic. We are continuing to work in close partnership with Social Work Scotland and COSLA. We are also engaging with stakeholders via Self Directed Support Practice Network and SDS Collective, to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are at the forefront of any future planning and policy making decisions.

Work is under development that will help identify strategic areas most likely to have access to hydrogen in the future. We plan to publish further evidence in spring 2022. We are also working with stakeholders including from industry, network companies, local authorities and delivery partners to better understand the potential role for hydrogen in decarbonisation of heat.

In addition, we are working in partnership with SGN to explore options for the future of Scotland's gas network.

Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy. It sets out the Scottish Government’s vision for housing by 2040, that everyone has access to a safe, warm, affordable and energy efficient home that meets their needs, located in the place they want to be. The strategy needs to be agile and able to respond to future changes, and is in alignment with the Shared Policy Programme agreed with the Scottish Green Party. The updated commitments will be reflected in the governance process and monitoring framework plan for Housing to 2040 that will be established later this year.

We are conducting analysis to consider the distributional impacts of decarbonising our homes and buildings in response to policy developments. We have commissioned analysis using the National Household Model and this has helped us consider the impact on fuel poor households. We will publish details of this modelling exercise by the end of the year.

We have also commissioned research to better understand the financial implications of adopting a range of zero emissions heating technologies across a number of common housing archetypes, and the extent to which fuel costs can be reduced by the installation of storage and microgeneration technologies. This work is expected to be published in early 2022. Further work will be commissioned as the policy and regulatory environment evolves.

The proposal in the draft Heat in Buildings Strategy, published by the Scottish Government for consultation in February 2021, to establish a Green Heat Finance Task Force has been widely welcomed by stakeholders. This Taskforce, which will be established by the end of 2021, will forge a new partnership approach between the Scottish public sector, heat decarbonisation experts and the financial sector to explore potential new and value for money innovative financing mechanisms for both at-scale and individual level investment in zero emissions heat. The Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust will provide co-secretariat support for the independently chaired Taskforce. Membership and Terms of Reference for the Taskforce will be published by the end of 2021.

In general terms, in the event that any Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, including the Additional Dwelling Supplement, is due in relation to a transaction it could not be reclaimed.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Revenue Scotland, in its role as Scotland’s fully devolved tax collection and management authority, regularly publishes data on its website regarding the number of transactions subject to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), including the Additional Dwelling Supplement. The LBTT tax return does not however allow for capture of the information requested.

In the Draft Heat in Buildings Strategy, published in February 2021, we committed to undertaking research to understand the extent to which the deployment of secondary technologies alongside zero emissions heating systems could help to optimise operational performance, minimise energy consumption and reduce end user fuel costs. This research is underway, and seeks to understand the technical feasibility and cost effectiveness of heat batteries, electric batteries, and thermal storage cylinders when installed alongside a range of zero emissions primary heating technologies; both independently of and in conjuncture with microgeneration technologies such as solar PV and solar thermal. We expect to publish this research in early 2022.