Scotland's Sustainable Housing Strategy

Foreword

The Sustainable Housing Strategy sets out our vision for warm, high quality, affordable, low carbon homes and a housing sector that helps to establish a successful low carbon economy across Scotland. This paper sets out the significant investment and programmes which will help us achieve that vision and help us meet the demanding targets for fuel poverty and emission reductions we have set.

Last year we consulted with you on how we could achieve our vision and that feedback has helped us develop the actions needed to deliver a long term and lasting transformation in the way we refurbish, build and value our homes.

This paper has been developed with significant input from leading organisations from the housing, fuel poverty, environmental and consumer protection fields as part of the Sustainable Housing Strategy Group. These organisations share with us a recognition of the importance of the issues of fuel poverty and climate change and a desire to ensure that everyone in Scotland has the opportunity to improve their home's energy efficiency. This will primarily be delivered through the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland ( HEEPS) which, through a number of pilots across the country, has already started improving the stock for the most fuel poor areas, making the homes of the most vulnerable cheaper to heat.

You have helped develop this ambitious strategy and we need your help to make sure the ambitious targets it sets out are achieved. Changing the way we view and value our homes is a key part of this and we are working with our stakeholders to help achieve that transformation as well examining the role for standards.

We do not believe that it is right that our homes should cost the earth to heat and we are going to ensure that homes in Scotland set a benchmark for warmth, quality and affordability whilst leading the way in carbon reduction. We want everyone in Scotland to live in high quality, sustainable homes that they can afford and that meet their needs. This strategy sets out the route map for achieving this but we will need your help to get us there.

Nicola Sturgeon

Deputy First Minister and
Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities