24.03.2021
An increased supply of affordable housing and better data are key to tackling the issues facing Scotland’s housing sector, according to a Scottish Parliament Committee.
The Local Government and Communities Committee say evidence they have gathered as part of their scrutiny of the Fair Rents (Scotland) Bill and wider housing sector has highlighted the paucity of data available making it difficult to tackle these issues effectively.
The findings are part of the Local Government and Communities Committee’s legacy report which reflects on their work in this session of the Scottish Parliament and looks to potential future Committee work. The Committee has said scrutiny of affordable housing supply and its wider impacts across the sector should be a key priority for any future Committee.
The report also highlights issues with the current systems in place for people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). The Committee has said more should be done by the UK and Scottish Governments to ensure those with NRPF and insecure immigration status are aware of the support available to them.
James Dornan MSP, Convener of the Local Government and Communities Committee, said:
“Our scrutiny of the housing sector across this session has made it clear that a lack of supply of affordable housing is impacting every aspect of this sector. We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to building 100,000 affordable homes by 2032 but we would urge any future committee to scrutinise closely the progress towards this goal.
“Although the Committee did not feel it had sufficient evidence to come a decision on the general principles of the Fair Rents (Scotland Bill), it is clear that a lack of adequate data is holding back progress towards tackling rising rents.
“The £450 million package of measures put forward by the Scottish Government to address issues related to zero valued homes, as a consequence of the cladding used in their construction, is a positive step but this is an issue which should continue to be examined.”
He added:
“Since 2016, our Committee’s work has covered a huge amount of ground, including detailed scrutiny of major legislation such as the Fuel Poverty Bill, the Planning Bill and the Non-Domestic Rates Bill, and important inquiries into community empowerment, homelessness and Scotland’s empty homes.
“There is no doubt the success of our work has been down to the tremendous input we’ve had from people, communities and organisations right across Scotland, and we’d like to thank everyone who has engaged with us and helped inform our work.”
ENDS
Background
The full report is attached.
The report highlights the main pieces of work which the Committee undertook during session 5. It also identifies some work which may be required to be carried out in session 6, as well as some outstanding or ongoing work which the Committee
believes its successor committee(s) might wish to consider undertaking.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body securely processes journalists’ data for the purpose of enabling reporting on the work of the Scottish Parliament, in line with current data protection requirements. You have the right to unsubscribe at any time. For further information, please see our Privacy Notice.
Media information
Nick Connelly: 0131 348 5453
Text Relay calls welcome
nick.connelly@parliament.scot
Committee information
Text Relay calls welcome
LocalGovernmentandCommunities@parliament.scot
Public information
• Telephone enquiry line: 0800 092 7500 or 0131 348 5395 (Gàidhlig)
• sp.info@parliament.scot
• Text 07786 209 888
• Ask a question online through live chat
• We also welcome calls using the Text Relay service or in British Sign Language through contactSCOTLAND-BSL.
You can also follow us on twitter @scotparl and to keep up to date with the Committee, Local Government and Communities Committee @SP_LocalGovt
Like us on Facebook for updates on news and events
Or find out more on YouTube