Home Connections Conference 16th October

1
Home Connections Conference 16th October

• Does Scotland Do It better ?
• Jim Hayton ALACHO Policy Manager

2
Why Scotlands different

• Scottish Parliament est.1998, with 73 MSPs
  elected by PR)
• Since 2007 governed by SNP, with large majority
  since 2011 ( hence referndum)
• Devolution means control of health, housing,
  education and other services
• But not foreign policy, defence, welfare and
  taxation
• Finance under Barnett formula (Scotland gets
  roughly 10 of Westminster resources)
• so able to pursue distinctive policy (elderly
  care, prescriptions tuition fees etc)
• Scale (everyone knows each other too !)

3
Housing Policy - Whats Different About Scotland ?

• Affordable Housing Supply
• Right to Buy
• HRA Accounts
• Private Rented Sector
• Homelessness / Housing Options
• Welfare reform
• Health Social Care?

4
Affordable Housing Supply

• Grants 40k for Councils / 58k for HAs
• Target 6000pa affordable (4000 social) on
  target but not enough
• Ave rent council c 65
• Ave HA rent c 75
• Ave council England c80-85
• Ave HA England ?

5
Right to Buy

• Shortly to be abolished in Scotland (two year
  window)
• Wide consultation and broad consensus on
  abolition
• Had been popular with tenants(and lucrative for
  councils ) but tailed off significantly in recent
  years (discounts and impact of recession)
• Last minute spike in applications

6
HRA Treatment

• Virtually no central government control over
  rents, or borrowing
• Recent guidance helpful to housing (i.e. no
  leakage permitted into general expenditure)
• Councils recently allowed to build again with
  grants to support ( though still less than) HAs

7
Private Rented Sector

• Scottish strategy for PRS with key aims of
  increasing provision, while improving quality and
  standards for tenants
• tenancy agreement proposes possible rent control
  and more SoT for tenants.
• Tenant HIP
• PLL registration, soon LA Regulation
• Recently published consultation on PRS

8
Homelessness

• Priority Need Abolished 2012 ( so every u/h hh
  entitled to settled accommodation)
• Housing Options has greatly reduced homeless
  applications
• Recent report from SHR HO practice good in part
  but need
• Common definition of HO, Clear and consistent

9
Welfare Reform

• Scotland subject to the same reforms as rest of
  UK, but
• Action taken to mitigate the bedroom tax (50m pa
  cost to rest of Scottish budget )
• Huge issue in referendum (though only 80,000
  affected )
• alarm at Osbornes recent statement on more cuts
  to young and those in work bens
• Scots want power over all welfare expenditure in
  post referendum settlement
• decision in next few months from Smith commission

10
What Next ?

• Scotland promised extra powers prior to
  referendum, but detail still awaited
• Seems like parties will reflect housing issues in
  their manifestos
• Will English housing policy become more like
  Scotlands ?