Local Authority Housing Income and Expenditure: 1997-1998 to 2017-2018 (near actuals) and 2018-2019 (estimates)

Introduction

1. This bulletin presents statistics on Local Authority housing income and expenditure in Scotland from their Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs). It also includes some related information on capital housing investment. 

2. The bulletin covers the period 1997-98 to 2017-18 (near actuals)^[1] up to budgeted estimates for 2018-19 which may be revised next year.

3. Six councils transferred their housing stock to the housing association sector, the largest of these being Glasgow from 2003^[2], which affect comparisons over time.

4. Most figures presented in this bulletin have been rounded for ease of presentation. The requirement to separately account for the income and expenditure associated with council-owned stock in Scotland is laid out in sections 203(1) and 204(4) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.  

5. This bulletin (and the tables and charts) include two data sources. Most data are based on HRA survey returns and some data are based on Local Government Capital Returns. The HRA records mainly income from, and expenditure on, council housing. 

6. If there is a surplus in the HRA i.e. HRA income exceeds HRA expenditure, this may be transferred into the councils’ housing capital expenditure accounts to be spent on a range of housing capital investment projects. 

7. As authorities can borrow to fund capital expenditure, there is a clear separation between the revenue and capital accounts, and tight restrictions on how capital resources can be used. In general, this means that revenue resources can be used for both revenue and capital projects, but capital resources can only be used to fund capital projects. As such capital expenditure is separate to, and in addition to, any HRA expenditure on housing.