October 2020
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
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***Full-scale policy conference taking place online***
This conference will assess The Scottish Government’s strategy for housing and the new framework for regulation - with keynote contributions from the Minister and the Scottish Housing Regulator.
The discussion at a glance:
- Housing to 2040 - discussing principles for housing communities in Scotland
- implementation issues and implications for the future of housing - delivery of high quality housing and well-designed communities, sustainability, and homes that meet peoples’ needs
- COVID - the impact on the housing sector and those working on it in Scotland - and the role played by the sector in response - as well as:
- restarting the housing market - early indications on progress in
- support - what is needed to protect the resilience of the housing sector for the future
- changing consumer and societal priorities - priorities for servicing newly-embedded needs for housing that supports health, the environment and new ways of working
The agenda:
- The Scottish Government’s strategy for housing across Scotland
- Opportunities to develop a dynamic, resilient and inclusive housing system in Scotland
- Meeting Scotland’s housing needs: homelessness, supporting an ageing population, and tackling poverty
- Social housing and the private rental sector: balancing the interests of tenants and landlords, improving existing housing stock and controlling rent increases in the private sector
- The regulatory framework - implications for tenants and Registered Social Landlords
The discussion in detail:
- social housing - implementation of the regulatory framework introduced by the Scottish Housing Regulator
- the private rented sector:
- the regulatory framework - potential effectiveness in encouraging the culture of assurance, openness and transparency outlined as an aim by the Regulator
- rent in the private sector - with reports that the Regulator will be engaging with registered social landlords on the affordability of rents
- short term lets - the Scottish Government's response to its consultation, including potential powers for local authorities to introduce control areas following the passage of the Planning Act
- addressing key social challenges:
- Ending Homelessness Together - implementation of its measures, including funding for frontline third sector organisations to support them to innovate and transform services
- older people - priorities for meeting their housing needs, including adaptability for longer independent living - and prospects for reducing pressures on the health and social care system
- poverty - increasing housing affordability and lowering house running costs for families with children
- market dynamics - balancing the interests of tenants and landlords in both the private rented and social housing sectors
- improving standards - priorities across the housing sector, including how to ensure that housing stock run by local authorities and social landlords meets The Scottish Housing Quality Standard
A scan of relevant developments:
- housing supply - the Planning (Scotland) Act aiming to increase the amount of house building in Scotland
- housing and the economy - Towards a Robust, Resilient Wellbeing Economy for Scotland from the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery:
- recommending accelerated investment in housing
- The Scottish Government’s response with plans to work with the Scottish National Investment Bank for maximise impact
- planning - Scottish Government consultation on NPF4, the latest National Planning Framework
- energy efficiency - the Improving energy efficiency in owner occupied homes consultation and the pandemic-delayed Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (Scotland) Regulations
- support for landlords - in the face of the pandemic with the Private Rent Sector Landlord COVID-19 Loan Scheme to help with temporary loss of their rental income during the crisis
- support for tenants:
- Tenant Hardship Loan Fund - £10m to support people struggling to pay rent due to the impact of COVID-19
- the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) - increased by £3m
- short-term lets - local licensing schemes implemented by councils in Scotland from April 2021, with a compulsory safety requirement, and with ministers considering future taxation for such lets
- Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group: tackling homelessness following coronavirus - the Government reportedly accepting all the report’s recommendations, which included:
- upscaling Housing First Scotland
- protecting tenants and those with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)
- adding to the National Performance Framework
- reviewing Ending Homelessness Together
Policy officials attending:
Our forums are known for attracting strong interest from policymakers and stakeholders. Places have been reserved by parliamentary pass-holders from The Scottish Parliament, and officials from The Scottish Government.
This is a full-scale conference taking place online***
- full, four-hour programme including comfort breaks - you’ll also get a full recording to refer back to
- information-rich discussion involving key policymakers and stakeholders
- conference materials provided in advance, including speaker biographies
- speakers presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides if they wish, using the Cisco WebEx professional online conference platform (easy for delegates - we’ll provide full details)
- opportunities for live delegate questions and comments with all speakers
- a recording of the addresses, all slides cleared by speakers, and further materials, is made available to all delegates afterwards as a permanent record of the proceedings
- delegates are able to add their own written comments and articles following the conference, to be distributed to all attendees and more widely
- networking too - there will be opportunities for delegates to e-meet and interact - we’ll tell you how!
Full information and guidance on how to take part will be sent to delegates before the conference
