Housing statistics quarterly update: December 2020

5. Notes

This document should be read along with the explanatory notes on data sources and quality can be found in the Housing Statistics webpages.

Comparing over time

This document generally compares the latest quarter's figures with those for the equivalent quarter in previous years, or it compares the latest 12 month period with the previous one. For the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, comparisons are also made with the 12 month period to March 2016, the last year prior to the current Scottish Government target period to deliver 50,000 affordable homes by March 2021.

Housing Statistics across the UK

Information on housing statistics developments across the UK is available on the Government Statistical Service (GSS) webpages.

This includes material such as:

• The Cross-Government Housing, Homelessness and Planning Statistics Steering Group helps set the strategic direction for UK collaboration to improve the overall picture of housing statistics, including representatives from the devolved administrations.
• A GSS housing and planning statistics interactive tool, which contain a searchable database of all housing and planning statistics produced by UK public bodies and devolved administrations, along with a summary of the UK housing topic landscape.
• Topic reports on cross-UK areas such as on Affordable Housing Statistics.
• A report on the definitions, terminology and feasibility of harmonisation of affordable housing statistics across the UK.