Investing in Modernisation - An Agenda for Scotland's Housing :8

Investing in Modernisation - An Agenda for Scotland's Housing

Strengthening the Housing Contribution to Community Care
2.22 People with a need for community care include some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Although there is no single, definitive list of community care users, these will include frail elderly people, people with physical disabilities, dementia, mental health problems or learning disabilities, drug and alcohol misusers and HIV/Aids sufferers and people with acquired brain injury or sensory impairment. Effective programmes of community care are, therefore, an essential part of tackling and preventing social exclusion.
2.23 The fundamental aim of the Government's community care policy is that people in need of care should be able to live independently at home wherever possible. It has long been accepted that effective community care requires close co-operation and collaborative working between relevant agencies in the social work, health and housing areas at all levels - planning services and organising and delivering them. There is a substantial body of guidance available to local authorities and others on how best to achieve effective integrated care but it is widely recognised that practice on the ground has, in some cases, fallen short of what might be achieved. We have, therefore, recently issued Modernising Community Care: An Action Plan which sets out practical steps to achieve more effective joint working and better services for vulnerable people. The Action Plan focuses on achieving better and quicker decision making by, for example, delegating decision making and budgets, and promotes the planning and delivery of services on a locality basis through new local partnerships with joint goals, joint funding and commissioning and joint services. Most importantly, from a housing point of view, it emphasises the need to develop more flexible home care services linked to appropriate housing to allow people to be cared for at home wherever possible.
2.24 To complement Modernising Community Care - An Action Plan, we have also issued to health, social work and housing agencies draft new guidance entitled Modernising Community Care - Guidance on the Housing Contribution. This sets out an approach to community care from a housing perspective and is intended to be good practice on strategic planning, implementation, assessments, hospital discharge arrangements, how to deliver home based options, housing management arrangements and monitoring and evaluation. 2.25 Housing for people in need of community care can include: "specialist housing" which incorporates special design features to help people with physical infirmities, for example, wheelchair housing;
supported housing including sheltered housing schemes, group homes and other forms of shared housing which incorporate support services to enable the occupants to live as independently as possible together with design features such as communal facilities; and,	Care in the Community: Tweedbank in the Borders.
mainstream housing either designed with the needs of community care users in mind (or with appropriate adaptations) or with relevant support provided to the individual, or both.
2.26 The need for community care housing and the best way of meeting this can only be properly assessed at the local level. Nevertheless, priority should be given in local community care housing strategies to investment programmes which: give users and their carers as much choice as possible, including the choice to stay in their existing house if this is a possible option; help those users who wish to stay in their own house, as for example, the Care and Repair scheme does, through adaptations, alarms and other options; ensure that new housing is built to barrier free standards, except in special circumstances; and, insofar as possible separate out housing and support so that housing options and rights are not affected by care needs.

Adaptations
2.27 Incorporating appropriate adaptations into the house can be a cost-effective way of helping frail elderly people and others with physical disabilities to stay at home. The 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey indicated that approximately 110,000 households (5% of the total) said that they required further adaptations to their dwellings on the grounds that one or more members of their household had a long term illness or disability. Adaptations to the bathroom and the installation of handrails, hoists or stairlifts were the most frequently mentioned requirement. Households requesting further adaptations were likely to be found disproportionately in the publicly rented or housing association sectors (approximately two thirds of the total). Scottish Homes is preparing a Good Practice Guide on Adaptations which is due to be published in [February 1999]. Not all dwellings can be made suitable for occupants with physical disabilities through adaptations but meeting the need for adaptations, both in the socially rented and private sectors, is likely to be an important part of local authorities' community care housing strategies.

Views are sought on whether in future greater priority should be given within existing programmes to provide adaptations to existing houses.

Care and Repair
2.28 The Care and Repair scheme seeks to help elderly and disabled owner-occupiers to carry out necessary repairs, improvements and adaptations to bring their houses up to satisfactory standards. Care and Repair teams currently operate in 24 local authority areas and they require both revenue funding to meet staff costs and other overheads and access to local authority improvement and repair grants. The revenue costs of most Care and Repair teams are met by local authorities and Scottish Homes, and the improvement and repair grants are funded from local authorities' general capital allocations (normally on a 50/50 basis with the owner-occupier, but there are local variations). Co-ordination of the Care and Repair scheme, including central advice and assistance, is provided by Scottish Homes. Further training and other support for Care and Repair teams is provided by the Care and Repair Forum funded by the Scottish Office housing voluntary grants scheme. The Government would like to see Care and Repair work increasingly co-ordinated with health and social work services at the local level so that physical improvements are integrated with any necessary care and support.
2.29 Care and Repair has an established track record, particularly in many rural areas, and we would like to see further expansion of its activities. The Scottish Office has agreed with COSLA that Care and Repair should be a shared priority for both central and local government and we would expect to see this reflected in decisions by local authorities on how to use their single capital allocations. We have also asked Scottish Homes to provide additional resources to facilitate further expansion.

Views are sought on whether Care and Repair should continue to receive priority in the allocation of resources with a view to establishing Care and Repair projects, in due course, in all parts of Scotland.

New Building and Barrier Free Standards 2.30 In addition to adaptations and Care and Repair projects, there is a continuing need for new housing suited to community care requirements. For 1998-99, Scottish Homes has allocated approximately Ł40 million for new community care housing projects which should allow approval to be given to a programme of over 900 new units. We envisage that Scottish Homes should continue to give priority to suitable new building projects where there is a clear and recognised need backed up, where necessary, by agreed revenue funding packages with partner organisations. 2.31 New housing built to barrier free standards allows individuals with a range of disabilities and handicaps to continue to live independently in the community.
At our request Scottish Homes has been revising the existing design guidance set out in the Scottish Housing Handbook issued approximately 25 years ago and it has recently published Housing for Varying Needs - a design guide: Part I Houses and Flats³ which sets out advice on the standards required for the design of houses and flats, and includes barrier free design standards. Scottish Homes has already announced that, wherever possible, new housing funded with its financial support (including private sector housing) should be designed to these barrier free standards unless there are exceptional reasons to the contrary such as site difficulties. Local authorities have been advised to adopt the same approach as Scottish Homes and we have commended barrier free standards to the private sector.	Promoting barrier free standards in new housing.

2.32 The Scottish Office has also consulted on possible amendments to Part T of the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 to facilitate visitor access by disabled persons and if these proposals are agreed they would apply to all new dwellings, change of use and extensions. They are intended to ensure that, as far as reasonably practicable, the ground or principal floors are accessible to disabled persons and are provided with sanitary accommodation they can use.
2.33 If the proposed changes to Part T of the Buildings Standards (Scotland) Regulations are agreed, then some of the barrier free standards will be mandatory for all new housing. In this event, there may be a case for extending the building regulations so that barrier free standards in general are required in all new housing although there would need to be further consultation on the details in due course.
2.34 Over time as more and more new housing is built to barrier free standards, there should be a steady increase in the percentage of the housing stock which is suitable for the ambulant disabled. However, it is also important to ensure that satisfactory housing is provided for persons who need to use a wheelchair and the current national total of 2,500 houses provided by public agencies and housing associations built to the specified standards for housing for wheelchair users is well below estimated requirements. Further new housing, built to these standards, should, therefore, be an important priority for the future.

Views are sought on the principle of making barrier free standards mandatory for all new housing.

Flexible Support
2.35 Many people with community care needs require not only suitable housing but also appropriate support and care to allow them to live independently in the community. Often housing and support arrangements have been linked with the result that residents in a particular supported housing project have broadly similar needs and access to specialised services to meet these needs. Although there is likely to be a continuing need for arrangements of this type, we envisage that increasing emphasis should be placed on the provision of support which allows for: the separation of housing and care arrangements; different providers supplying housing and support services; an increase or decrease in the intensity of the response to the needs of the person concerned without affecting his or her housing situation; and, help in tackling the isolation of the user and make connections with the local community.
2.36 Flexible support has a particular relevance in rural areas where traditional "special needs" projects are less easy to integrate into small communities, but this approach could become increasingly relevant throughout Scotland as the Modernising Community Care Action Plan agenda is taken forward and if the proposals for changing the way in which funding for support is provided are taken forward (see paragraph 2.38 below).

Views are sought on the need to increase the priority to be given to provide more flexible support rather than support which is tied to a specific housing project.

Resources for Community Care Housing
2.37 Making progress in providing community care housing requires resources _ both resources for the housing itself and for the necessary support services. Community care is currently a priority for housing investment and we have taken this into account when setting priorities for the Scottish Homes development programme and in allocating resources to local authorities for investment in their own stock. Resources may also be available through New Housing Partnerships for the provision of housing for community care groups providing the relevant bids meet the specified criteria for the Initiative. As noted above, we have agreed with COSLA that Care and Repair should be a shared national priority in the future.
2.38 We are also keen to encourage housing providers to explore complementary sources of funding for housing for community care groups. In addition to grant funding from Scottish Homes, housing associations have, for some time, obtained private finance to meet part of the costs of new socially rented community care housing projects. In certain circumstances, Health Boards have powers to make grants subject to certain conditions. In appropriate cases, such grants may make a contribution towards the cost of providing housing linked to hospital closure and resettlement programmes where this is consistent with the duties and responsibilities of Health Boards and provides value for money.
2.39 We would also like to see greater provision being made by the private sector itself given that there may be increasing interest amongst elderly owner-occupiers in selling their existing houses and re-investing the proceeds in moving to more convenient housing including, in some cases, with support provided. Commercial organisations, voluntary organisations and other housing providers outside of the housing association and public sectors can obtain financial assistance for such developments through Scottish Homes' Special Needs Capital Grant Scheme. We particularly welcome the approach that has been developed in certain parts of Scotland in developing new bodies, often known as "Community Care Charitable Trusts" which allow for the pooling of resources, including private sector funding, from a variety of sources under a single agency.
2.40 The Scottish Affairs Committee report on the Implementation of Community Care in Scotland drew attention to the need for improvements in the co-ordination of capital and revenue expenditure for community care housing projects. Where the revenue funding required for care and other support services is not committed in advance or the funding commitments made are not fulfilled, there is the danger that housing projects cannot be used for their intended client group or, worse still, left vacant until funding becomes available. An important cause of the problem is the different timescales required for housing capital expenditure, where projects typically take two to three years between approval and completion, and the revenue expenditure on staffing and other running costs where final decisions are likely to be taken less than 12 months before the start of the project. There is also a variety of potential sources of revenue funding according to the nature of the project and the revenue funders are often different from capital funders which makes it difficult for housing providers to assemble and maintain revenue funding packages. There is evidence that the problem was particularly exacerbated by the changes resulting from local government re-organisation in 1996.
2.41 If more community care users can be helped to stay in their own homes this may, over time, help to reduce the need for complex capital and revenue funding packages. Nevertheless, where new supported housing projects are required this problem can only be tackled properly by effective inter-agency co-operation at the local level so that all relevant parties are fully aware of the financial implications of projects, and committed to them before they are commissioned. Effective locality working in line with the Action Plan should help and result in jointly prepared development or project briefs and funding arrangements set out in development agreements between the parties. There may also be some scope for rationalising the sources of funding in the longer term. The Government has recently issued a consultation paper Supporting People: A New Policy and Funding Framework for Support Services which seeks views on the possibility of giving local authorities a new responsibility for providing support to vulnerable people living in the community. This would be funded primarily through a transfer of resources from the DSS Housing Benefit programme which currently can provide Housing Benefit payments towards the cost of support services in supported accommodation. In addition, these new arrangements might replace Scottish Homes Special Needs Allowance Package which is paid to housing associations for enhanced housing management costs in supported housing projects. As Supporting People makes clear, the aim would be to create a unified budget which could be combined with the resources available to community care, housing and other services within local authorities.

Promoting Good Quality Housing Across All Tenures

Design and Procurement of Good Quality Housing
2.42 The Government is committed to encouraging high standards for building design and for the environment in which they are located. The pursuit of design quality is complementary to our policy of seeking best value for money from investment in buildings. Initiatives towards achieving these objectives could include: investment in buildings based on whole life costings rather than just initial costs; innovations in procurement, e.g. bulk procurement, partnering etc; improving effectiveness and efficiency in the building process by using more streamlined procedures; encouraging waste reduction from the building process and encouraging recycling of waste products.
2.43 Emphasis on good design and efficient and effective procurement leads to: avoidance of costly problems during the construction phase and beyond; improvement in effectiveness and efficiency in use; reduced maintenance costs and safety risks for those who will carry out future maintenance; improved sustainability; reduced energy usage; better well-being of the occupants; and, a sense of ownership and community.	Cairndow, Argyll.

2.44 The Government has sought to encourage design quality through award schemes, for example through support of the long-running Saltire Society Housing Design Awards, which are specifically intended to promote, recognise and acknowledge excellence in housing in Scotland. We also recognise the importance of setting design standards which are both sustainable and inclusive. Scottish Homes' review of the Scottish Housing Handbook series for The Scottish Office, as described in paragraph 2.31 above, is a contribution to this process. We have also recently consulted on Investing in Quality - Improving the Design of New Housing in the Scottish Countryside. This aims to give guidance on improving the external design of houses in the countryside and making greater use of local materials.
2.45 There is a need to give greater coherence and priority to this work by developing a policy for architecture in Scotland. We see this policy setting out clearly both the practical and cultural value of quality in design and the contribution good building can make to safeguarding the environment. The policy would seek to encourage a culture of quality in building design in both the public and private sectors.

Views are sought on how housing and housing design might benefit from a policy on architecture.

Making Best Use of the Planning System
2.46 The use of land for new house building is a key issue for planning authorities. The planning system has a positive role to play in assessing the scale of housing likely to be required, the design and quality of such housing and in guiding appropriate development to the right places. It also reconciles the requirement for development with the need for conservation in ways which secure mutual benefit, as well as preventing development which is not acceptable. The planning system is important as a means of protecting and enhancing the environmental quality of our cities, towns, and countryside. The use of market analysis to develop an effective strategy for housing, linked to local authority community plans but recognising wider regional markets, can help to ensure a more effective match between land supply and housing strategies.
2.47 Planning authorities are expected to provide for a minimum five year effective supply of land for housing in their development plans and, where appropriate, to take into account the need for the provision and retention of good quality affordable housing in the allocation of such land. However, through the National Planning Policy Guideline 3: Land for Housing the Government is committed to minimising the use of greenfield sites for new housing development and maximising the use of previously developed land, which is consistent with our commitment to sustainable development. The reuse of previously developed or underused, vacant and derelict sites, sometimes referred to as "brownfield sites", and the refurbishment of existing premises, through conversions and improvements, provides much potential. In some parts of Scotland, 70% of housing completions are on brownfield sites and we expect housebuilders and local authorities to maintain and, where possible, improve this level of output.
2.48 The Government recognises that the availability of land has sometimes constrained the provision of affordable rented housing in rural areas. Scottish Homes' recent policy statement Tackling Rural Housing has suggested that the agency consider taking a more pro-active role in relation to land use planning and exercising its compulsory purchase powers. Scottish Homes and its partners are currently investigating these and other means to increase the supply of land for housing in rural areas. In addition, the Land Reform Policy Group has, as part of its wider agenda, proposed a number of measures to help free up the land resource. The Group's work provides the Scottish Parliament with an agenda for early action on land reform.
2.49 One of the key policy goals for planning is to bring about a pattern of land use that supports economic development and enables people to reach everyday destinations with less need to travel or travel by less polluting means. This goal reflects the policies set out in the Government's recent Scottish White Paper on Integrated Transport Travel Choices for Scotland. We have consulted on a draft NPPG on Transport and Planning, and hope shortly to publish a final version, which emphasises the importance of ensuring that new housing developments are easily accessible by public transport and are also well integrated into effective networks for walking and cycling. This can best be achieved by locating new housing in or adjacent to existing settlements where local services can be accessed by foot, bike or public transport. A number of local authorities are encouraging car-free housing developments and there is scope to secure improved public transport, cycling and walking provision through planning agreements.
2.50 We also need to address the transport needs of our existing housing. There may be specific problems with peripheral housing schemes where both public transport connections and access to cars in many households are limited. Lack of convenient and affordable transport links to places of employment, training, health and leisure can exacerbate other social and economic problems. Where relevant, local authorities should address this transport dimension in preparing their local housing plans or strategies.
2.51 The planning system is therefore helping to guide development to centres where the use of existing resources can be fully utilised. All new housing development also has the potential to enhance and improve environmental quality. The scale, density, siting, layout and external design of buildings are important factors, which, if dealt with properly, can contribute to the quality of development and to protecting and enhancing environmental quality, including creating areas of open space. Planning authorities are expected to address these and other matters. To encourage and recognise quality in Planning we have introduced a Scottish Quality In Planning Awards Scheme, one of the categories of which is "quality in development on the ground" and a number of Planning Advice Notes (PANs) emphasise the importance of the siting and design of new development.

Views are sought on any additional planning measures that may be required to ensure good quality housing for all.

Improving Energy Efficiency
2.52 The results of the 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey show that the energy efficiency of the housing stock in Scotland is poor. According to the National Home Energy Rating (NHER) system for assessing the energy efficiency of houses the average NHER of the stock is 4.1. Under the current Building Regulations a new home will have an NHER of around 7. 93% of dwellings examined in the 1996 Survey did not achieve this energy rating.
2.53 Poor energy efficiency means that energy is wasted leading to an increase in emissions of CO², one of the greenhouse gases which we are committed to reducing as part of the fight to prevent climate change. The other consequence is that homes are more expensive to heat resulting in higher fuel bills. However, a large number of households cannot afford to spend as much as they need to keep warm and this may well lead to individuals and families suffering from associated problems such as dampness and condensation. As already noted, these problems may in turn affect the health of the occupants.
2.54 The Government is committed to improving home energy efficiency, particularly for those on low incomes. The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) provides assistance for works of loft, tank and pipe insulation and cavity wall insulation, and we have introduced a new initiative, the Warm Deal, which provides a comprehensive package of insulation measures which will make significant improvements to energy efficiency in low-income homes. It is linked to participation in the Government's New Deal for the long-term unemployed. We have doubled the annual spend on home energy efficiency from Ł6 million to Ł12 million per annum.
2.55 The Home Energy Conservation Act makes local authorities energy conservation authorities and places a duty on them to draw up strategies for achieving a significant improvement in home energy efficiency across all sectors of the stock. They are required to submit their strategies to the Secretary of State and to report from time to time on progress. Authorities submitted their first reports in December 1997 and they show a clear commitment to improving home energy efficiency and helping those on low incomes. The Government is equally committed to helping authorities meet their targets.
2.56 We will be issuing a consultation paper inviting comments on how best to improve home energy efficiency in Scotland, with particular reference to helping the most vulnerable groups. It will aim to build on the success of the HEES and Warm Deal schemes and will lead to a Scottish strategy for tackling effectively the problems revealed by the 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey.
2.57 In addition, house design has an important part to play in improving energy efficiency. Between 40-50% of the UK's emission of CO² are attributable to construction activity and buildings in use and half of these emissions are from the domestic sector. We are undertaking a major review of the building regulations to consider how the mandatory energy standards might best be developed to contribute to the Government's overall targets for energy efficiency and reductions in CO² emissions.

House Condition Problems in the Private Sector
2.58 The Tolerable Standard is the basic measure of house condition in Scotland and, as indicated in Chapter 1, houses falling below the standard are found predominantly in the private sector. The Tolerable Standard has remained more or less unchanged since 1969. Following the 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey a consultation paper sought views on the purpose, continued usefulness and composition of the Standard. The Paper also proposed the introduction of a new "Index of Housing Quality" which would make provision for such things as freedom from serious disrepair, physical security, energy efficiency and barrier-free access where practicable and cost-effective. The consultation process is now ended and an announcement on the future composition of the Tolerable Standard will be made shortly.
2.59 The number of below tolerable standing housing is relatively small as a proportion of the total stock and some will be second or holiday homes, and some will be empty or closed awaiting demolition. Below tolerable standard housing can never be completely eliminated because as houses are brought up to the standard, or closed or demolished, other houses fall below the standard.
2.60 Nevertheless, tackling below tolerable standard housing is one of the national priorities for housing investment and local authorities are responsible for identifying and tackling below tolerable standard housing in their areas. They can estimate the number of such houses by undertaking regular local house condition surveys. They have a range of powers to require action on below tolerable standard houses: to close them, or demolish them or have them improved. The improvement and repairs grant system can provide help at rates up to 90% to improve below tolerable standard houses in the private sector. There will be occasions when, for example, local authorities decide that cases of serious disrepair in buildings in common ownership, or the need to adapt a house to meet the needs of a disabled person, are more important than dealing with a below tolerable standard house which is a second home or may be vacant. They must also consider cost-effectiveness. Given the comparatively small number of below tolerable standard houses, and their generally scattered nature, locally-devised strategies are likely to be the most effective in tackling the problem.

Views are sought on the need for additional powers for local authorities to help tackle below tolerable standard housing.

2.61 The results of the 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey also show that there is a significant problem of disrepair in the private sector stock. Much of it is comparatively minor and should be remedied by the owners. They have the main interest in their property and it is therefore in their interest to ensure it is in good condition, although in practice this is often overlooked. But there are circumstances where the cost is too high for the householder. The Government believes that in such circumstances there should be assistance towards the cost of necessary works from public funds.
2.62 Such assistance is currently available through the Improvement and Repairs Grant System. It provides grants, mainly at 50%, for works which are necessary to safeguard the fabric of the dwelling or to protect the occupants from threats to health arising from poor house condition. However, the current system is inefficient in the way it distributes resources. Grants of 50% may go to those well able to bear a greater share of the cost, while assistance at 50% may be insufficient for those on low incomes or faced with very high bills. Local authorities currently spend about Ł50 million per year primarily through grants to owner-occupiers and private landlords for private sector housing. Until 1996, the budgets for improvement and repairs grants were ring-fenced by the Secretary of State, but it is now for local authorities to determine how much to set aside for this purpose.
2.63 It is essential that a more effective system of supporting owners in need is found. Reform of the grant system could include bringing in a test of resources so that assistance is given in direct proportion to need. In addition, it may be that loans should play a greater role in supporting home improvement. Loans secured on the home might, therefore, supplement or partially replace grant provision. Local authorities already have powers to give loans for works of improvement and repair and they might normally provide the necessary finance, although there could be scope for involving private lenders. Loans might be offered on terms that reflected the circumstances of the borrower.

Views are sought on the principle of proposals to bring in a test of resources and the role of loans in supporting home improvement and on how the arrangements might work in practice.

2.64 At present local authorities also have powers, in certain circumstances, to require owners (both private landlords and owner-occupiers) to undertake repairs or improvements. For example, they have powers under housing legislation to place improvement orders on houses below the tolerable standard and require owners to bring them up to that standard and put them into a good state of repair. They also have separate powers to serve repair notices to require owners to rectify defects in houses in serious disrepair. When these powers are used, local authorities are required to offer financial assistance to owners, in the form of grants at a fixed rate, and a loan for the balance. It is possible that local authorities could make better and more extensive use of these powers to secure necessary improvements or repairs in the public interest, if, above a specified minimum, the amount of grant was linked to the financial circumstances of the homeowner.

Views are sought on the case for giving local authorities more discretion in the amount of financial assistance provided to owners who are required by the local authority to undertake improvements or repairs to their houses.

2.65 There is a particular difficulty in getting agreement amongst owners to undertake repair and improvement work when parts of the building, for example the roof and external fabric, are in common ownership, such as tenements. The recent proposals by the Scottish Law Commission to reform the Law of the Tenement should ensure that arrangements are in place in every "tenement", i.e. buildings comprising two or more flats in separate ownership and divided from each other horizontally, which would allow the owners collectively to make decisions on repairs which would be binding on all the individual owners. We hope that legislation on this matter will be taken forward by the Scottish Parliament.
2.66 Improvements are needed in the quality of the accommodation offered by private sector landlords, as in other parts of the private sector. Local authorities have powers to provide improvement and repair grants to private landlords as well as owner-occupiers, but in some parts of the privately rented sector a more pro-active stance may be required. In particular we are keen to see improvements in properties known as "houses in multiple occupation" (HMOs), such as flats shared by a number of unrelated adults, bedsits with shared facilities and lodging houses. While many HMO landlords are providing perfectly acceptable accommodation which is well suited to the particular needs of their tenants, there is concern about both the physical condition (including, in some cases, potential fire risks) and the management of some HMOs.
2.67 The Government has recently consulted on proposals for introducing a mandatory system of licensing for HMOs in Scotland with the aim of giving greater protection for tenants. In particular, we will be seeking views on whether this might be based on the provisions for licensing in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 which is currently the basis of a number of discretionary, local authority licensing schemes, or if new primary legislation is needed. The deadline for responses to the consultation exercise on these issues has now closed and we are currently evaluating the views of those who responded. We will set out shortly our conclusions on the best way forward.
2.68 In addition to the measures available to Government in the form of grants and the exercise of statutory powers, we need to foster a climate in which private owners - both owner-occupiers and private landlords - take pride in the condition of their homes and feel a sense of responsibility for them. There are significant challenges to be met if the condition of the stock in the private sector in Scotland is to be improved.