A briefing outlined the impact of universal credit on temporary accommodation in Scotland, and how local authorities were responding.
Source: Temporary Accommodation and Welfare Reform in Scotland, Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland
Links: Briefing | CIH press release
Date: 2013-Dec
The Scottish government began consultation on on the objectives of the Home Report, how it was working in the existing market, and on the content of the three documents which made up the Home Report – the single survey, energy report, and property questionnaire. The consultation would feed into a five year review on the report, and would close on 27 February 2014.
Source: Home Report consultation, Scottish Government
Links: Consultation document | Summary
Date: 2013-Dec
A report by a committee of MPs said that the spare room subsidy ('bedroom tax') affected those in greatest need, its objectives could be otherwise met, and it should be repealed, with interim protective measures put in place. It said that the discretionary housing payments system was not working well and that it should be replaced by a standard entitlement across the whole of the United Kingdom, with provision for local authorities to exceed the standard level to meet local need.
Source: The Impact of the Bedroom Tax in Scotland: Interim report, Fourth Report (Session 201314), HC 288, House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Dec
The Scottish government published a Bill designed to: end the right to buy in Scotland; establish a private rented sector tribunal; change mobile home site licensing to improve protections for residents; introduce a regulatory framework for letting agents; enhance local authority powers to improve the quality of houses in the private sector; and make changes to the allocation and management of social housing.
Source: Housing (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Scottish Government press release | CIH press release
Date: 2013-Nov
A report examined and assessed the impact and effectiveness of recent legislation regarding the property factor industry in Scotland. The report noted that the legislation fell short of protecting home owners and called for the government to achieve better control of the industry.
Source: Hew Edgar, Property Factors (Scotland) Act: Impact review, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Links: Report | RICS press release
Date: 2013-Oct
The Scottish Government issued guidelines to assist local authorities and their community planning partners in the development and implementation of local 'housing options protocols for care leavers'.
Source: Housing Options Protocols for Care Leavers: Guidance for corporate parents – improving housing and accommodation outcomes for Scotland s care leavers, Scottish Government
Links: Guidelines | Summary
Date: 2013-Oct
A study examined the early impacts of welfare reform on registered social landlords in Scotland. There had been small changes in the level of rent arrears in the three months following the removal of the housing benefit spare room subsidy (the so-called 'bedroom tax'). Landlords reported increased workloads and were responding to the impact by providing greater levels of support, advice, and information to tenants.
Source: Early Impacts of Welfare Reform on Rent Arrears: Research report, Scottish Housing Regulator
Links: Report | SHR press release | SFHA press release | BBC report
Date: 2013-Oct
A report by a committee of MSPs examined the 'bedroom tax' in Scotland. The report noted that, in practice, there was a variation in response from different housing providers and the impact varied across location. Early figures suggested that people were not moving. The report noted the complexities still to arise from the further implementation of benefit reforms, including universal credit. It recommended further data collection and better understanding of rent arrears. It also noted the importance of continuing access to Discretionary Housing Payments and financial inclusion measures.
Source: The Bedroom Tax in Scotland, Fifth Report 2013, SP Paper 409, Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A commission on housing in Scotland was launched. The commission would take evidence from the property profession, the not-for-profit housing sector, investors, developers, stakeholders, and public interest bodies on issues including supply, need, affordability, design, and the role of the private rented sector. The commission would take evidence until 18 November 2013 and would then prepare a recommendations report for the Scottish Government, political parties, and policy-makers and practitioners across the sector.
Source: Press release 14 October 2013, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Links: RICS press release | Commission questions | List of commissioners
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined housing with care models in Scotland that aimed at improving the health and well-being of older people.
Source: Newhaven Research, Housing with Care for Older People, Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Aug
A report by a committee of MSPs said that funding should be available to help community transport providers buy new and replacement vehicles. More than 80 per cent of people who used community transport were elderly and/or people with disabilities, who found it difficult to access public transport.
Source: Report on Community Transport, 7th Report 2013, SP Paper 377, Scottish Parliament Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the final phase of implementation of the modernized Scottish homelessness framework. The essence of the right to settled accommodation had been successfully achieved: but incremental policy adjustment had meant that outcomes for those facing homelessness varied somewhat from the highest aspirations of the radical 2002 policy review. The extent to which the strengthened framework represented a long-term policy success would depend on whether it withstood the risk of 'policy blurring' in the most recent shift towards blending homelessness assessment, homelessness prevention activities, and the broader assessment of the 'housing options' available to those seeking assistance.
Source: Isobel Anderson and Regina Serpa, 'The right to settled accommodation for homeless people in Scotland: a triumph of rational policy-making?', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 7 Number 1
Links: Article
Date: 2013-Jul
An audit report in Scotland said that the supply of housing was not keeping up with levels of need. The Scottish Government needed to clarify how it would work with local councils and other partners in the sector to make sure that it met the target to provide an affordable home for all by 2020.
Source: Housing in Scotland, Audit Scotland
Links: Report | Summary | Audit Scotland press release | SFHA press release
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the contrasting approaches to homelessness in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. It considered whether a legal rights approach (as adopted in Scotland) better met the housing needs of homeless men than alternative approaches, and whether it helped to mitigate the stigma of homelessness. Rights-based approaches crowded out alternative policy objectives, providing a blunt but effective tool in prioritizing housing needs, and helped minimize stigma by casting homeless people as rights-bearers with legitimate entitlements.
Source: Beth Watts, 'Rights, needs and stigma: a comparison of homelessness policy in Scotland and Ireland', European Journal of Homelessness, Volume 7 Number 1
Links: Article
Date: 2013-Jul
The Scottish Government announced (following consultation) that it was ending the 'right to buy' social houses. It said that this would safeguard social housing stock for future generations, helping to build more cohesive and sustainable communities.
Source: Press release 3 July 2013, Scottish Government
Links: Scottish Government press release | Consultation report | CIH press release | SFHA press release | BBC report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the idea of localism in the context of housing policy and as mediated by the experience of devolution in England and Scotland. It considered the meaning and limitations of the concept when account was taken of the real nature of housing systems, and the experience of localism in the context of social housing provision. The implementation of localism by policy-makers had exhibited shortcomings, and the emerging interpretation of localism might lead to 'policy dumping' rather than enhanced real local autonomy.
Source: Duncan Maclennan and Anthony O'Sullivan, 'Localism, devolution and housing policies', Housing Studies, Volume 28 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
A paper examined and compared the land use planning systems operating in the four United Kingdom countries. All four countries had a system that was 'plan-led': national and local planning policy was set out in formal development plans describing how land should be protected, and seeking to ensure a balance between development and environmental protection in the public interest. Although the basic structures of the four systems were similar, there were differences in the detail and in how each system worked. Recent changes introduced by the UK coalition government had led to a greater divergence between the system in England and the other three countries.
Source: Suzie Cave, Alan Rehfisch, Louise Smith, and Graham Winter, Comparison of the Planning Systems in the Four UK Countries, Research Paper13/39, Inter-Parliamentary Research and Information Network
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jun
The Scottish Government published a plan to tackle fuel poverty and reduce Scotland s carbon footprint by improving the energy efficiency of housing.
Source: Scotland s Sustainable Housing Strategy, Scottish Government
Links: Plan | Scottish Government press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Jun
A report said that disabled people in Scotland were going without essentials such as food, heating, and clothes to make up for the loss in their income caused by the 'bedroom tax'. Almost one-quarter of disabled people who took part in the research said that their housing benefit would be cut as a result of the new cap on the amount of housing benefit a person could receive if they were deemed to have a 'spare' room.
Source: Squeezed Out: Counting the real cost of the bedroom tax, Capability Scotland
Links: Report | Capability Scotland press release | SNP press release | Daily Record report
Date: 2013-Jun
The Scottish Government published a strategy for the private rented sector. The strategy was designed to improve and expand the sector by enabling a more effective regulatory system, targeting tougher enforcement action, and attracting new investment.
Source: A Place to Stay, a Place to Call Home: A strategy for the private rented sector in Scotland, Scottish Government
Links: Strategy | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2013-May
The Scottish Government began consultation on a revised planning policy. It said that the new policy would place more emphasis on jobs and economic benefits to help deliver sustainable economic growth.
Source: Scottish Planning Policy: Consultation Draft, Scottish Government
Links: Consultation document | Planning framework | Scottish Government press release | SNP press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Apr
An audit report in Scotland said that community planning partnerships (CPPs) had not met the ambitious goals set for them. There had been many examples of partners working together and delivering good results at local level: but these had been largely based on one-off project funding, rather than stemming from involvement of CPPs. The partnerships had not been able to show that they had had a significant impact on delivering improved outcomes across Scotland.
Source: Improving Community Planning in Scotland, Audit Scotland
Links: Report | Audit Scotland press release
Date: 2013-Mar