Chamber and committees

Existing need within the Housing Need and Demand Assessment process (HNDA) can be informed by a number of factors. As local authorities are responsible for undertaking the HNDA, they are responsible for selecting what they consider to be the most appropriate count of existing need for their area.

Households where adult children live with parents are captured in the household projections prepared by National Records of Scotland (NRS). Household projections are based on past trends and any trend, upwards or downwards, in the incidence of adult children living with parents, will, along with many other factors that drive change in household numbers, be captured and projected forwards.

Local authorities or housing market partnerships are not required to procure primary data in order to meet the requirements of a Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA). The HNDA process provides flexibility to incorporate a variety of types of housing need where there is robust local information and evidenced policy drivers. It is for each local authority or housing market partnership to consider relevant sources of information and whether procuring primary data is appropriate to their circumstances.

It is the responsibility of local authorities through their Local Housing Strategy (LHS) to determine the appropriate housing required in their area, informed by a Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA).The HNDA is a policy neutral evidence-base which helps inform LHS outcomes and priorities for future housing and related service delivery, including specialist provision, to meet the needs of a range of equalities groups. All local authorities are required to carry out an Equalities Impact Assessment when developing a LHS.

The Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and other stakeholders to look at current and future risks associated with electric car charging points and more widely, lithium batteries. SFRS has also implemented the Lithium-Ion Partnership Group to focus on this subject of which the Scottish Government is part of, and work continues to ensure the safety of our communities in Scotland from any potential emerging risks.

The Residential Property Developer Tax is a tax on corporate profits levied on certain companies operating across the UK primarily in the domestic construction sector. This is a reserved tax and Scottish Government has no power to introduce the same.

The Scottish Government is quite clear that the relevant costs of cladding remediation will be met by developers through the Scottish Safer Buildings Accord. The Scottish Government will prioritise its spend on buildings where the developer no longer exists.

There will be some developers who are signatories to both the Scottish Safer Buildings Accord and Welsh Developers Pact. The parties to the Scottish Safer Buildings Accord will be confirmed once The Accord is signed.

The single building assessment reports undergo a review by technical staff within the Cladding Remediation Unit.

The Scottish Government has asked for spending to end March 2022, end June 2022 and end September 2022. This will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course, once it has been collated and quality assured.

Scottish Government officials have spoken with the Victoria State Government on matters of mutual interest in fire safety and cladding remediation.