Rural and islands housing action plan: business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA)

B: Purpose and intended effect

B1. Background

2. In March 2021, the Scottish Government published Housing to 2040, Scotland’s first long term housing strategy. Housing to 2040 puts our ambitions for place at its core, creating not only quality homes but quality places too. This applies to all communities in Scotland, recognising that all places are distinct, but also taking account of the particular challenges faced by our rural and island communities as well as our town centres and urban communities.

3. Housing to 2040 includes the ambition ‘We will take action so that rural and island communities have access to high-quality, affordable and market housing which has been planned alongside the economic and physical infrastructure and helps people to live, work and thrive – and we will help to stem rural depopulation’.

4. The Shared Policy Programme between the Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party published in August 2021 included a commitment to develop a Rural & Islands Housing action plan to ensure we meet the housing needs of those areas and help retain people and attract them to these communities.

5. A Fairer, Greener Scotland Programme for Government 2021/22 included commitments to deliver 110,000 affordable homes across Scotland by 2032, with at least 70% in the social rented sector and 10% in our remote, rural and island communities supported by a Rural & Islands Action Plan.

6. Programme for Government included our commitment to publishing the Action Plan, as did the FM’s recent policy prospectus, published in April 2023.

B2. Objective

7. The Scottish Government has set an ambitious commitment to the delivery of affordable homes across Scotland, with the delivery of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 70% in the social rented sector and 10% in our remote, rural and island communities. We know that the delivery of high-quality, place-sensitive housing, particularly in rural and island communities takes time and commitment. For new build homes, there are issues of land availability, quality and cost, as well as higher materials, transport and development costs.

8. The Action Plan is rooted in the actions, principles and vision of Housing to 2040 and will set out a range of actions to address the barriers to delivery of more homes in remote, rural and island areas.

B3. Rationale for Government intervention

9. In March 2021, the Scottish Government published Housing to 2040, Scotland’s first ever long-term national housing strategy. Housing to 2040 includes a specific focus on rural and island housing and commits to “take action so that rural and island communities have access to high-quality, affordable and market housing which has been planned alongside the economic and physical infrastructure and helps people to live, work and thrive – and we will help to stem rural depopulation”.

10. In September 2021, the Scottish Green Party and Scottish Government published the Bute House Agreement – a policy programme which included a commitment to develop a Rural & Islands Housing Action Plan to ensure we meet the housing needs of those areas and help retain people and attract them to these communities.

11. Programme for Government reinforced this commitment, as did the First Minister’s Policy Prospectus, published in April 2023.

12. The Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan supports the following National Performance Framework objectives:

• We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe.
• We have a globally competitive, entrepreneurial, inclusive and sustainable economy.
• We have thriving and innovative businesses, with quality jobs and fair work for everyone.
• We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equally.
• We value, enjoy, protect and enhance our environment.
• We are creative and our vibrant and diverse cultures are enjoyed widely.