The Scottish Government

Title

Supply of good quality housing: through new building, refurbishment and conversion to domestic use.

National Indicator/Target

Increase the rate of new house building.

Brief Description

The indicator measures additions to the supply of housing. The discussion document 'Firm Foundations' published on 31 October proposes an aim that the rate of new housing supply should increase to at least 35,000 per year by the middle of the next decade. The indicator measures additions to the supply of housing.

Housing supply includes public and private new house building; conversions of existing buildings to housing use; and refurbishment of dwellings.

Increases in the supply of housing should not be at the expense of the quality of new and existing houses. For new housing, the Government has introduced new building standards to increase the quality and energy efficiency of all new properties. The Government has also affirmed its commitment that all local authority and housing association houses meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015 and from 2008 local authorities will have a duty, supported by new powers, to establish and implement strategies to improve the condition of houses in the private sector.

Strategic Objective(s) to Which Indicator Relates

The Purpose: Additional housing supply supports the target of matching average European ( EU15) population growth over the period from 2007 to 2017.

Wealthier & Fairer: The supply of housing of the right type in the right place is an important contributor to economic growth in all parts of Scotland.

Safer & Stronger: An adequate supply of well designed affordable housing for all is a key feature of a strong community.

Healthier: Good quality new and existing housing is an essential underpinning to the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.

More Detailed Definitions

Definitions of Keywords

New house building: Houses completed by or for housing associations, local authorities or private developers for below market rent or low cost home ownership; houses completed for market sale by private developers.

Refurbishment: Houses acquired by housing associations and re-furbished either for rent or low cost home ownership.

Conversion: Buildings converted for housing use.

Evidence Source

Statistical returns by councils to the Scottish Executive; and planning information from the Affordable Housing Investment Programme ( AHIP).

Baseline and Past Trends

Baseline:- New supply from these sources totalled 25,716 in 2006-07.

Past trends:

Chart: Total Supply of Housing: Annual 1996/97 - 2006/07

Source: Affordable Housing Investment Database: Housing Statistical Returns

Methodology

The indicator is the sum of the various contributions to new housing supply as set out in the past trends summary table above.

Data Ownership and Quality Assurance

Published data are National Statistics and are published by Communities ASD.

Publication of Data

Information on each component of the indicator will be published in the autumn of each year on the Scottish Government website in the annual web based Housing Statistics for Scotland publication.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfSNewBuild