Social housing net zero standard consultation: interim equality impact assessment

Appendix A: Data and evidence gathering, involvement and consultation

This section includes the results of the evidence gathering (including the framing exercise), including qualitative and quantitative data and the source of that information, whether national statistics, surveys or consultations with relevant equality groups.

Characteristic: Age

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

A lower proportion of older households (36%) live in dwellings with the highest energy efficiency bands (EPC C or better, SAP 2012) than Families (55%) or other households (46%).

Older households are less likely than Families and Other household types to report that their heating system doesn’t always keep them warm in winter; 12%, compared to 16% of Families and 21% of other households.

In qualitative lived experience research, fuel poor participants aged 65 and over that were on a low pension were often struggling to make ends meet and limiting heating. Whether health issues were present and how socially connected people were, were more obvious factors in shaping older people’s ability to deal with fuel poverty. Older households (aged 65 and over) who kept the heating on all day tended to do so at a temperature that they considered relatively low, such as 18°C, perceiving this to be the most energy and cost-efficient way of using fuel.

Households, who for various reasons do not take up their offer of funded childcare and so their children spend more time in the home, where any member of a household is aged under 5 and where the home is also occupied regularly during the daytime it is considered to require longer heating hours.

For adolescents, living in a cold and/or damp home is associated with an increased risk of mental health problems and antisocial behaviour. Living in a cold home may cause stigma in teenagers. They may not feel comfortable inviting friends around to their home and this may affect friendships, peer groups and relationships. In the long term this can have an effect on a teenager’s confidence and potentially lower their socioeconomic opportunities. Like children, teenagers are also at a higher risk of developing respiratory diseases such as asthma and poor health days can also affect their attendance at school and training and affect their educational attainment.

For infants and young children, living in a cold and/or damp home is associated with an increased risk of hospital admissions, respiratory illnesses and allergies, and poor weight gain. Days off school will increase for these children and participation in some sports may become affected. These factors, along with having no-where warm to undertake their studies can also have a detrimental impact on educational attainment. The stigma associated with living in a cold home may also cause them to become isolated from friends and this can be detrimental during their developmental years.

Pressure of keeping a warm home for children can impact parents physical and mental health. Conflict between keeping a warm home and the cost of heating can lead to stress and practises like adults skipping meals. Parents of children in under-heated homes described struggling to keep everyone warm and emphasised how stressful this was.

Adults living in cold homes are more likely to suffer from minor illnesses such as colds and flus and have an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Minor illness can impact on their daily tasks from taking children to school or going to work. The adult population are the most productive in society and reduced productivity from this cohort can trickle down into the economy as a whole due to lost days from work. Adults with pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular or circulatory disease, COPD or forms of arthritis are more likely to suffer during the cold weather and this may reduce their ability to maintain their daily lives and negatively damage their physical and mental wellbeing.

Sources (full reference details in appendix)

• Scottish House Condition Survey 2019 (Last updated: December 2020)
• Research into the lived experience of fuel poverty in Scotland (www.gov.scot)
• The life chances of young people in Scotland: evidence review
• Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill and Fuel Poverty Strategy: health impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Taken from fuel poverty health impact assessment - Fuel Poverty (Target, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill and Fuel Poverty Strategy: health impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Characteristic: Disability

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

Social renters are more likely to have a limiting, long-term physical or mental health condition (45%) than those in the private rented sector (22%), those who own their homes outright (28%) and those who own their homes through a mortgage (14%).

Where any member of a household is aged 75 or over, or a household member has a long-term illness or disability lasting more than 12 months or is in receipt of benefits received for a care need or disability they are considered to require higher heating temperatures. If the home is also occupied regularly during the day, then they are also considered to require longer heating hours.

Sources (full reference details in appendix)

• Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2019 (Last updated: January 2021)
• Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2016-19

Characteristic: Gender Reassignment

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

There is a lack of data on gender reassignment in relation to housing tenure and energy use. There is a commitment in Housing to 2040 that housing policy development will consider and aim to understand and tackle any specific disadvantages people with this protected characteristic may experience.

Source (full reference details in appendix)

• Housing to 2040: equalities position statement

Characteristic: Pregnancy and Maternity

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

Evidence suggests that households with children aged 0-4 are at high risk of poverty. The risk, however, is much higher when the youngest child is aged less than one year old. Evidence of the impact of heating on infants, noted above in relation to age, and the relative poverty of lone mothers, noted below in relation to sex.

Cold Homes and infant health

Living in a cold home has been found to negatively impact infants’ physical health, in terms of lower weight gain, increased hospital admissions, and the increased prevalence and severity of respiratory problems like asthma.

Sources (full reference details in appendix)

• Every child, every chance: The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22
• Evidence Reviews: Liddell & Morris, 2010; Marmot Review Team, 2011

Characteristic: Race

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

This characteristic includes Gypsies/Travellers who make use of dedicated housing facilities on sites provided by local authorities. Issues were raised with respect to the Gypsy/Traveller community, both in relation to how different accommodation types will be considered within the regulatory framework and the use of portable gas cylinders for heating.

Accommodation on public and private Gypsy/Traveller sites will typically be either a pitch for a caravan and an amenity block that provides the kitchen and bathroom facilities or a pitch with a residential mobile home. Gypsy/Travellers living on public sector sites are likely to be on low or fixed incomes.

Feedback gathered while developing a Site Design Guide for Gypsy/Traveller sites suggests that many existing amenity blocks are cold, difficult to heat and prone to condensation. A lack of investment has resulted in substandard accommodation and few measures to reduce fuel poverty. There is a higher need for heat due to poor insulation and the overall condition of amenity blocks. Gypsy/Travellers have told us that they find it difficult to heat 2 spaces – the caravan and the amenity block. As there is usually no living space in the amenity block this results in them being in and out of it throughout the day making it difficult to heat. Many amenity blocks do not have gas central heating plumbed so residents rely on fuel to power generators for heat and electricity. Residential mobile homes have lower levels of insulation and energy efficiency than standard housing.

Some minority ethnic households report barriers to access of social housing, which would be affected by policy if it affects the supply of social housing.

In 2019 82% of those who lived in socially rented households were White Scottish, compared to 80% of owner-occupied households, 55% of households in the private rented sector, and 65% of households in other tenures. These percentages are similar to previous years.

In 2019, 3% of adults in socially rented households were African, Caribbean or Black compared to 1% of adults in private rented households, 1% of adults in other tenures and 0% of adults in owner occupied households.

43% of people from Mixed, Black, Black British and Other ethnic groups, and 41% of Asian or Asian British ethnic groups were in relative poverty after housing costs. In comparison 18% of White British people were in relative poverty after housing costs.

Accessibility of advice and financial support

Specific groups may be unfairly impacted due to difficulties for people whose first language is not English, who may need help to understand how to operate new heating systems to best effect.

Some ethnic minorities are likely to lack access to standard financial products. E.g., Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are three times less likely than White adults to have a bank account. Some religious and ethnic groups may be excluded from credit by a lack of availability of loans on terms that conform to their beliefs.

Sources (full reference details in appendix)

• Interim Gypsy/Traveller site design guide (December 2021)
• Housing needs of minority ethnic groups: evidence review (2021)
• Scottish Household Survey 2019 (Last updated: September 2020)
• Consultation: HiBS Consultation Analysis

Characteristic: Religion of Belief

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

People who live in the social rented sector (3%) are more likely to identify as being Muslim compared to those who own their homes outright (1%) and those who own their homes with a mortgage (2%).

Source (full reference details in appendix)

• Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2019 (Last updated: January 2021)

Characteristic: Sex

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

Evidence suggests that certain groups of women are more likely to experience poor housing. This includes women from ethnic minorities, disabled and refugee women, women who have been in the criminal justice system, LGBTI (particularly transgender) women, older and younger women, women involved in prostitution, lone parents and women with other caring responsibilities.

The relative poverty rate after housing costs is higher for single women pensioners (20%) than for single male pensioners (17%).

The relative poverty rate after housing costs was highest for lone mother (39%) compared to other single working-age adults.

Households where the HIH (head of household) was a man were more likely to report managing well financially than households with a woman HIH (60% compared to 49%). Research shows that women have less access to resources and are overrepresented in low paid employment and among social security claimants, there are gendered inequalities in connecting care with income.

According to the annual survey of hours and earnings (2022), In 2022, the gender pay gap for all employees in Scotland was 12.2%.

The gender pay gap for full-time employees in Scotland increased from 3.0% in 2021 to 3.7% in 2022 due to men’s hourly earnings increasing at a faster rate than women’s hourly earnings. However, this is still below the gap of 7.2% in 2019 (pre pandemic) and so continuing the longer-term downward trend.

Sources (full reference details in appendix)

• Engender: A Woman’s Place: Gender, Housing and Homelessness In Scotland (2020)
• Melone, H. (2019) Gender-based Perspectives of Fuel Poverty in Scotland. Eaga Charitable Trust. Available at: Gender-based Perspectives of Fuel Poverty in Scotland | Fuel Poverty Research Library (fuelpovertylibrary.info) (Accessed on 3 March 2023)
• Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (2022)

Characteristic: Sexual Orientation

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

In total, 3% of adults in social rented households identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or other (LGBO) in 2017. However, it is likely that some of the differences in sexual orientation across tenures may be linked to age.

Low Income

In 2018, people who identified as LGBO were twice as likely to be unemployed compared to those who identified as heterosexual. This may be related to age as a higher proportion of those identifying as LGBO were in the age groups 16-24 and 25-34, which are the age groups where unemployment is highest.

Concerns have been expressed about inequalities in employment for people who identify as LGBO due to prejudice and harassment from employers and colleagues.

Health Inequalities

People who identified as LGBO were slightly more likely to report a long term, limiting health condition (26%) than heterosexual adults (23%). This is particularly marked given the younger age profile of the LGBO group.

Source (full reference details in appendix)

• Social tenants in Scotland 2017
• Survey: The Scottish LGBT Equality Report 2015
• Evidence Review: Sexual Orientation in Scotland 2017 (drawing on Scottish Surveys Core Questions 2015)

Characteristic: Marriage and Civil Partnership

Evidence gathered and Strength/quality of evidence

Marriage and civil partnership are also a protected characteristic. However, in respect of this protected characteristic, a body subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (which includes Scottish Government) only needs to comply with the first need of the duty (to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010) and only in relation to work. This is because the parts of the Act covering services and public functions, premises, education etc. do not apply to that protected characteristic. Equality impact assessment within the Scottish Government does not require assessment against the protected characteristic of Marriage and Civil Partnership unless the policy or practice relates to work, for example HR policies and practices.