DATAPACK
Q. Within local authorities, who do the Scottish Government provide the annual datapack to and when?
A. The datapack is sent out to local authorities in July each year. It is provided to a lead officer in each local authority's housing department.
Q. Can you clarify how the Scottish Government data pack information was pulled together?
A. The main work the Scottish Government carries out is to assign a more user-friendly and relevant sale code to the raw LVIU data which enables users to more readily identify market-value transactions. We are working closely with Register of Scotland to create a more usable supply of data for central and local Government.
DEFINITIONS OF HOUSING
Q. Are there any official or legal defintions of different types of houses? In particular, defintions of flats, townhouses and terraced houses?
Anaylsts in Scottish Government Communities Analytical Service Divsion use a number of 'operational definitions' when collecting various housing statistics. Definitions which appertain to our statistical collects (such as those examples below) tend to develop over long periods of time based on discussions with all the data providers. They are refined over time so that people collect their data on a consistent basis, so that SG can report them on a consistent basis. Unfortunately the definitions below do not include a 'Terraced' or 'Townhouse'.
Scottish Government use the following house type operational definitions in its local authority housing stock return;
1. A dwelling is a building or part of a building which forms a separate and self-contained set of premises designed to be occupied by one household. Includes any building or part of a building designed or adapted for multiple occupation by a group of small households with some shared facilities. Does not include institutional hostels with communal catering.
2. A permanent dwelling is a dwelling where the walls are of brick, stone, concrete block or similar material and which had a design life of 60 years or more at the time of construction. Include dwellings of non-traditional construction with a 60 year design life. Chalets, Terrapins and similar dwellings are considered non-permanent and should not be included.
3. A house is a dwelling divided vertically from every other dwelling and with its principal access from ground level. Include detached, semi-detached and terraced houses.
4. A flat is a dwelling on one floor, which only occupies a part of the building.
5. A maisonette is a dwelling on more than one floor, which only occupies a part of the building.
6. A high rise flat is a flat in a building of 5 storeys or more with a lift.
7. A tenement flat is a flat in a building of two or more floors containing two or more flats with a shared access.
8. A 4 in a block dwelling is a building that contains 4 flats, each with their own access.
DOMESTIC ABUSE
Q. Should we take account of the needs of people experiencing domestic abuse when undertaking an HNDA?
A. Yes, understanding the needs of households experiencing harassment, including those people experiencing or at risk of domestic violence, is an important element of the Partnership's housing need and demand assessment. Many people experiencing domestic abuse will need alternative housing provision and additional support services. It is critical to understand both the number of households in this position and also the specific issues they face. For an example of how this has been analysed see paras 5.108 to 5.110 in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire's Housing Need and Demand Assessment, which can be accessed via the following link http://www.aberdeencityandshire-sdpa.gov.uk/AboutUs/HNDA.asp.
Data about the needs of this group will inform the preparation of the local authority's Local Housing Strategy, which provides the strategic direction for tackling housing need and demand and will help inform the investment in housing and related services across the local authority area. For example, this may identify additional refuge provision or enhanced housing support services as priorities.
Q. Where can I get data on domestic abuse?
Data on the incidence of domestic abuse, by local authority area are published annually by the Scottish Government. These are available on the on the Scottish Government web-site at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/TrendDomesticAbuse. The latest data are for 2008-09. Data detailing the availability and usage of refuge places across Scotland available from Scottish Women's Aid (SWA) at http://www.scottishwomensaid.org.uk/publications/general-publications/swa-annual-statistics-2006-2007?searched=statistics&highlight=ajaxSearch_highlight+ajaxSearch_highlight1 . A variety of other useful research is also available on the SWA website at http://www.scottishwomensaid.org.uk/publications/research-reports.
DOUBLE COUNTING
Q. Can you clarify how to avoid double counting when secondary data is used or provide assumptions for removing double counting?
A. The Housing Need and Demand Assessment Guidance (2008) highlights a number of instances where care needs to be taken to avoid double counting when using secondary data. There is no standard method for removing double counting. Partnerships should identify where double-counting is likely to occur, and then decide which one of the duplicates to remove. This decision should be made by weighing up the pros and cons of both datasets, for example is one of the datasets more robust than the other or does one figure look more sensible than another?
Importantly, the Housing Need and Demand Assessment should clearly set out where, why and how the duplicates have been removed so that the reader is fully aware of this. However, in some instances it may not be possible to identify the extent of the double-counting due to the nature of the data, for example waiting list data may fall into this category. In such instances, Partnerships should flag this up in their Housing Need and Demand Assessment and discuss the likely impact of the double count on the estimates.