Housing to 2040

04 Housing To 2040's Contribution To The National Performance Framework

The ambitions and actions we have set out in the Housing to 2040 Route Map will make an important contribution not only to achieving the Housing to 2040 Vision but will also bring benefits across the National Performance Framework.

Affordable housing helps to tackle poverty and inequality

National Outcome: Poverty

• Levels of relative child poverty in Scotland, after housing costs, were six percentage points lower than the UK as a whole in 2016-19. ^[77]
• This difference, which developed following the devolution of housing to the Scottish Parliament, has been attributed to a larger proportion of people on low incomes living in the social rented sector and rents being comparably lower across sectors in Scotland.^[78]
• An estimated 3,100 households with children in Scotland have been helped into affordable housing in the year to March 2020 and keeping social rents lower than market rents benefits approximately 110,000 children living in poverty each year.^[79]
• Action to increase the supply of affordable and social rented homes and tackle unreasonably high rents in the private rented sector will continue to make an impact on child poverty levels.

How we live in, heat and build our homes impacts on the environment

National Outcome: Economy

National Outcome: Environment

15% of Scotland's emissions are attributable to the residential sector, primarily from space and water heating.^[80]

• We are clear that the tension between tackling emissions and ending fuel poverty must be overcome and remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting those least able to pay in the net zero transition, and in protecting those who are most vulnerable to any increase in costs.
• Decarbonising how we heat our homes through new regulations, changing how we build them with new techniques and approaches and taking action to make them resilient will make a major contribution to meeting Scotland's statutory climate change targets and help to reduce our exposure to the impacts of climate change.

Safe and warm homes and good neighbourhoods improve physical and mental health and wellbeing and build strong communities

National Outcome: Communities

National Outcome: Human Rights

National Outcome: Health

• The quality of a home and how affordable it is are both important in creating a sense of home^[81] and having a safe and warm place to live has clear health benefits for everyone, and particularly for young children, elderly people and people with physical and mental health conditions.^[82]
• The introduction of the National Planning Framework 4, the new Housing Standard and the new Scottish Accessible Homes Standard will improve the spaces within and around our homes and support people's wellbeing, no matter where they live.
• Putting a focus on place at the heart of our work and making sure homes add to and create great places will help to improve social cohesion, enable and contribute to community wealth building and unlock social capital across Scotland.

High-quality homes and neighbourhoods improve children's wellbeing and development

National Outcome: Children

National Outcome: Education

Warm, healthy, safe and non-overcrowded homes in positive neighbourhoods can contribute to children's wellbeing and happiness, providing a healthy start and contributing to their social and physical development. Good homes with room for children to play, learn and study can contribute to educational attainment^[83] and are part of our work to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up.

• Improving the quality of new build social homes and addressing all-tenure standards through the new Housing Standard will make an important contribution to ensuring people can live well in their homes and children have the space indoors and outdoors that they need to thrive.
• The Promise^[84] is clear that there is a real need to provide secure and stable housing for families as part of a package of holistic family support. Ensuring families have a safe living environment gives them the opportunity to better manage the challenges they face and enables them to better engage with supportive services.

Housing creates and supports jobs and drives inclusive economic growth and social benefits

National Outcome: Economy

National Outcome: Education

National Outcome: Fair Work & Business

Housing makes a crucial contribution across all four pillars (economic, human, social and natural) which underpin our vision of an economy that delivers sustainable and inclusive growth for the people of Scotland.

• Our ambition to deliver 100,000 affordable homes up to 2032 will support a total investment package of around £16 billion in Scotland's economy and 12,000 to 14,000 jobs each year.^[85]
• Total investment from public and private sources to decarbonise Scotland's domestic and non-domestic buildings is estimated to be in the region of £33 billion over the period to 2045, and is likely to support around 24,000 jobs each year as investment reaches its peak in the late 2020s.^[86]
• Scottish house prices are generally more affordable than UK house prices^[87], and this helps remove an important barrier to labour mobility by making it easier for workers to move to areas offering the type of work that best matches their skills, boosting economic productivity.
• Having enough space at home to work effectively is important for economic resilience since it allows people to continue to work when it is not safe to travel to or be in their workplace. It can also boost wellbeing by giving people more flexibility to balance their work/life commitments and work from a broader range of locations, increasing productivity by cutting the costs required to support work (such as the time and cost of commuting), reducing emissions associated with transport, and allowing those who would like to work but need to be based at home, for reasons such as caring responsibilities, to enter the workforce.
• Home ownership can support entrepreneurship because it provides an asset to borrow against.^[88]
• Housing's unique place at the heart of thriving communities means that investment in housing, and all the indirect effects that flow from that, can contribute to community wealth and social renewal.