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Building a Sustainable Scotland: Sustainable Development and the Spending Review 2002
SOCIAL JUSTICE
To make Scotland a good place to live in for everyone
Increasing the supply of affordable housing in areas of economic growth/replacing or improving existing, non-viable housing stock
Improving the quality of Scotland's housing through both design and construction is a vital part of the Social Justice strategy to create safe, healthy and attractive neighbourhoods. In Scotland, housing accounts for a third of carbon dioxide emissions.
Improved Scottish Building Standards relating to the conservation of fuel and power came into force on 4 March 2002. All new construction work, including alterations and extensions to existing buildings will need to be more energy efficient. The new standards for housing specify requirements for reduced heat-loss from the fabric and also relate to the energy efficiency of central heating boilers and controls for space heating and hot water. Projections indicate that energy savings of 25% for a typical dwelling will be achieved.
There are additionally requirements to improve the commissioning of services in all non-domestic properties and limitations are placed on the use of air conditioning and mechanical ventilation. By the year 2010 the total annual carbon savings due to the effect of these amendments is estimated to be 60,000 tonnes of carbon.
Our investment in new and refurbished housing gives us the opportunity to improve energy efficiency and reduce the impact on the environment. The measures being taken include the use of renewable materials, better insulation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, maximising the development of Brownfield as opposed to Greenfield sites and better land use planning to reduce travel to work distance.
The principle of sustainability is embedded in the Development Programme managed by Communities Scotland and sustainability indicators measure performance relative to carbon dioxide emissions, the use of Brownfield sites, average energy cost per household and the adoption of a Sustainable Development policy by Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). In 2001-2002 96% of new homes funded by Communities Scotland had SAP ratings of greater than 85. IT software has been introduced to enable RSLs to evaluate sustainability as one of five dimensions of housing quality within new build projects. Work is well advanced on an upgraded version of this tool which will be web-based and capable of being applied to refurbishment and maintenance projects.
Communities Scotland is promoting a new approach to the construction, repair and maintenance of social housing in Scotland, known as "Rethinking Procurement". This framework builds on the UK Government's Rethinking Construction (Egan) Initiative with the aims of securing improvements from the construction industry as well as enabling all RSLs to become good practice construction clients. One key outcome will be the effective use of resources (materials, people and time) and waste minimisation.
Regenerating communities through housing transfers to community ownership
The Scottish Executive's promotion of transfer is intended to improve housing quality for council tenants and be delivered using a sustainable approach. This is exemplified in Glasgow which will see 1.3 billion of capital investment over the first 10 years and which will deliver the Glasgow Standard for ex-council properties. Key elements of the standard are that the housing should be:
Sustainable: The development and improvement programmes will aim to minimise consumption of resources, make maximum use of renewable resources and existing/recycled materials and produce homes with significantly improved energy efficiency performance, a long life and reduced maintenance requirements.
Flexible: Wherever possible it is intended that the spaces provided within homes will be capable of further adaptation to suit changing needs.
Warm, Dry, Damp-free: Over-cladding, rendering, re-roofing, appropriately located additional insulation and double-glazing, new gutters, down-pipes, fascias and chimneys where required will result in a building envelope that will ensure individual homes can be adequately heated and ventilated.
Affordable Whole House Heating: The works programmes will be geared to ensure that in due course all GHA homes will have modern central heating systems so that tenants can adequately heat their homes to a standard to suit their own preferences.
Modern Fittings: All homes will be free of lead piping and, in due course, will contain modern, insulated cold and hot water tanks (communal or individual) where appropriate. They will also have modern kitchen and bathroom fittings complemented by modern ventilation where necessary. When due for renewal all entrance doors will be well designed to be attractive, safe, secure and draught-free, all windows will be double-glazed with low-emissivity glass, to retain heat but discourage solar gain, and will be set in uPVC, timber or aluminium frames. Safety, coupled with ease of operation, will determine the specification of fittings when due for renewal.
Attractive: Works such as re-roofing, rendering and over-cladding - in addition to achieving performance improvements - will also serve to enhance the attractiveness of the built environment. When programmed external areas including back courts, drying areas and the surrounding streetscape areas will be designed to improve the quality of life for the local residents.
Safe and Secure: As the repair and capital works programmes are carried out, GHA will embrace the principles outlined in the Secure by Design standard.
Energy Efficient: The combination of external fabric upgrading, double-glazing, insulation and central heating will result in significant improvements in energy efficiency such that the energy ratings of the properties will assist the eradication of fuel poverty. Minimum standards of fitting and insulation will be adjusted as building regulation requirements are improved.
The Scottish Executive will build similar requirements into further transfers to ensure that tenants benefit from improved homes that are delivered in a sustainable way.
Following the Spending Review we are committing a further 0/20/40 million to extend these housing improvements to more homes in Scotland.
Building social capital/improving delivery of core services in deprived areas
The Scottish Executive is investing in building strong communities through the Social Inclusion Partnership programme and through the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund. Some of the targeted initiatives supported by these programmes directly address sustainability and environmental issues at local level. The investment in building social capital also makes sure that communities have the resources, skills, networks, opportunities and motivation to enable them to get involved in, and make a difference in, their neighbourhoods and secure environmental justice. The additional support being offered for the development of neighbourhood management approaches - which dovetails with the Quality of Life Initiative - will result in local services being delivered in a sustainable way.
Improving the energy efficiency of domestic housing through investment in insulation and efficient central heating/Offering advice and developing best practice in relation to domestic energy efficiency
The Scottish Executive invests in improving the energy efficiency of homes through both the Central Heating Programme and the Warm Deal.
Central Heating Programme: We have prescribed performance specifications for the heating systems and the insulation materials to be used under all parts of the Central Heating Programme. For gas systems the minimum efficiency required is Band D of SEDBUK which is 78% (SEDBUK is the Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the UK database) and for oil the minimum required is 80% efficiency. These requirements comply with the Best Practice Programme's Central Heating System Specification (CHESS). Minimum standards will be adjusted as building regulation requirements are improved. The higher the efficiency of the boiler the less the energy consumption and lower the carbon dioxide emissions. The insulation specifications cover cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and tank and pipe insulation. All radiators are fitted with thermostatic radiator valves. Information on the impact of the Central Heating Programme in its first year will be published in October.
Warm Deal: This scheme provides grants worth up to 500 for a home insulation package which includes cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, hot and cold tank and pipe insulation, draught-proofing and advice on energy efficiency. Households that are in receipt of certain income-related benefits qualify. The Programme for Government set a target of 100,000 improved houses over the four years of this Administration. This target was met in September 2001 and by the end of 2001-2002 the total was over 137,000. The average energy improvement is slightly less than one point on the NHER scale (NHER is a 0-10 grading of the energy efficiency of a building). The average savings made by recipients in 2000-2001 were 95 for owner-occupiers and 62 for local authority tenants and this produced an annual reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide of 42,000 tonnes.
Related Issues
The Social Justice portfolio also seeks to influence activity in Scotland in other ways than just spending. Planning and Building Standards, for example, can make a significant contribution to sustainable development. Amendments to the building regulations have set the highest standards for thermal insulation and energy efficiency in the UK. The forthcoming Building Bill will create a more efficient and flexible system, better able to deliver on sustainability objectives. Administratively this will be provided through closer working relationships with local authorities as the enforcers of SE policy. A number of items that are being progressed in Planning - for example, the National Planning Framework, the West Edinburgh Planning Framework and advice on the layout and design of new housing development - have a strong sustainable development focus.
The Scottish Executive is also examining how housing quality in the private sector can be improved through the work of the Housing Improvement Task Force. The Task Force is to report later this year and will make recommendations in respect of modernising the existing housing stock.
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