Housing to 2040: equalities position statement

Scope of the Housing to 2040 position statement

This document captures what we know about equality and inequality in the housing system and has been used to inform the decisions we have taken in the Housing to 2040 route map. It is not a full impact assessment of Housing to 2040 as a whole, because individual impact assessments will be progressed for the individual policies set out in this strategy, as they are developed and to inform their implementation. This document is an important source of material to inform the future development of these full impact assessments of policies.

This document sets out available evidence across the wide range of policy areas related to Housing to 2040, including evidence gathered as part of the Housing to 2040 stakeholder engagement, public consultation and the travelling exhibition ‘Present Voices, Future Lives’. It also takes into account relevant available evidence in relation to COVID-19 and EU Exit and the relationship between housing, health and wellbeing.

A Child Rights’ and Wellbeing Screening Form has been undertaken for Housing to 2040 and published separately. This document provides a summary of the position we have reached as a result of that screening.

It should be also noted that Housing to 2040 Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment, Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Report and Island Communities Impact Assessment have been undertaken and published separately.

We also acknowledge that there are some gaps in evidence relating to housing. To address some of the known evidence gaps, and as set out in our Race Equality Action Plan published by the Scottish Government in 2017[i], we have conducted and published an evidence review in January 2021 on the housing needs and experiences of minority ethnic groups.[ii] We also undertook and published a separate evidence review on Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Needs[iii] in October 2020. We have worked with key stakeholders across housing and equality to review available evidence. This will help us identify gaps in evidence to prioritise future research projects and assess the possible impact of COVID-19 on these households, which we will then use to improve our evidence base and identify policy actions to address findings. We will continue to develop our evidence base as we deliver Housing to 2040.

As noted above, the evidence included in this Position Statement also sets a framework for the development of impact assessments (IAs) in future. These include IAs on Equality, Health, Child Rights and Wellbeing, Business and Regulatory, Fairer Scotland Duty and Island Communities which will be conducted as the specific policy commitments and actions outlined in the Housing to 2040 route map are developed and implemented. As we take forward our work to develop the detail of policies to support Housing to 2040, equality and human rights considerations will continue to shape their development.

It should also be noted that, while evidence has been gathered on people with protected characteristics, people who are socio-economically disadvantaged and children and young people, we recognise that people and their experiences do not fit neatly within a single protected characteristic or group. Every adult, child and family across Scotland will be likely to display a combination of different protected characteristics, socio-economic backgrounds, health inequalities and household incomes. There will also be differences across Scotland due to geography, including remote and rural and inhabited Island communities. It is therefore key to remember both the intersectionality of protected characteristics and the wide range of household circumstances that influence the opportunities and barriers people face, including their lived experience of poverty, inequality and/or discrimination. An intersectional approach to reading, reviewing and using findings from this document is therefore essential.