Introduction
New guidance for local authorities on local housing strategies has been issued jointly by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). A covering letter has been issued to local authorities. The guidance sets out key changes to the status, focus, format and content of Local Housing Strategies. These are in line with changes in national policy direction and in accordance with the new relationship between central and local government established through the Concordat.
The Scottish Government and COSLA share the long-term ambition to achieve an increase in housing supply across all tenures to address the nation's future housing requirements. We have been working together closely on reforms to the policy and delivery framework for housing and planning as part of an overall drive to improve the operation and responsiveness of Scotland's housing system.
Local housing strategies are a critical part of the new framework, particularly in terms of their influence on housing land supply in development plans and their role in influencing future housing investment. As such they now have a clearly enhanced status and are expected to be a key corporate planning activity for local authorities.
Consistent with the commitments within the Concordat to streamline government systems and processes, the opportunity has also been taken to rationalise the requirement for a number of related housing and support strategies. Local housing strategies will therefore now be the sole strategic document on housing, homelessness, housing support services and fuel poverty. This provides the opportunity to strengthen the integration of these areas into mainstream strategic planning for housing and to enhance their corporate profile.
Short notes on preventing homelessness, planning accommodation and support services in relation to rough sleeping, repeat homelessness are available on this website. Further information on mainstreaming equalities and worked examples using the template (Word version) for recording outcomes in the Local Housing Strategy are also available.