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

E. Summary costs and benefits by sectors and groups affected

Sectors affected

33. The provisions in the Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan will apply to local authorities, registered social landlords, community housing trusts, private house builders, local employers and community groups.

Benefits

Option 1

34. Doing nothing could exacerbate an already difficult situation facing the housing sector to deliver more homes in remote, rural and island communities.

Option 2

35. The actions set out in the Rural and Island Housing Action Plan will help organisations to work collaboratively, building networks and strengthening supply chains for the delivery of more affordable homes in remote, rural and island communities.

Costs

Option 1

36. The cost of doing nothing could be significant. A lack of affordable housing in remote, rural and island communities is anecdotally already impacting on the ability of businesses to operate and they could be forced to close with subsequent job losses and supply chain impacts. A lack of affordable housing in remote, rural and island communities could result in people moving away from these areas to work and live elsewhere in Scotland. This could be particularly damaging to the rural economy in Scotland.

Option 2

37. There is currently no additional capital or resource budget allocated to the Action Plan but actions are being delivered through a collective recognition of the need to support the rural economy. There will also be associated cost benefits seen in improved supply chain opportunities.

38. One of the actions in the Action Plan is to support the funding of Community Housing Trusts. A joint funding package has been agreed between the Scottish Government and Nationwide Foundation. There are additional costs associated with this action, with the funding coming the SG Housing resource budget.

39. The Action Plan will also bring forward the Affordable Rural Homes for Key Workers Fund. Up to £25 million is being made available from our Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) budget to allow suitable properties, including empty homes, to be turned into affordable homes for key workers and others to allow for local housing needs to be met. The initiative will be funded from the AHSP budget 2023-2028 up to £25 million.

Regulatory and EU Alignment Impacts

40. This measure is not likely to impact on intra-UK trade.

41. This measure is not likely to impact on international trade and investment.

42. This measure is not likely to impact on the Scottish Government’s policy to maintain alignment with the EU.

Scottish Firms Impact Test

43. There has been wide engagement with stakeholders across the housing sector and we have ensured that differing views and issues have been addressed. The Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan includes a series of actions to benefit organisations involved in the delivery of affordable housing in these communities across Scotland. There will be no differential effect on small businesses and the actions will apply to all regardless of the size of the business.

44. The Affordable Rural Homes for Key Workers Fund will positively impact local areas struggling to recruit or retain key workers as it will offer them a distinct funding route to meet their housing needs.

Competition Assessment

45. We do not foresee significant competition issues within the Scottish housing sector, as the actions within the Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan are intended to apply across the entire sector and the benefits will be felt by all organisations who are delivering housing in these areas.

Consumer Assessment

46. Consumers will benefit from the Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan as the actions included in it are intended to address barriers to delivery of more affordable housing in remote, rural and island communities.

Test run of business forms

47. There are no new forms associated with this proposal.

Digital Impact Test

48. The Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan will be published on the Scottish Government’s website. A PDF version of the document is available on the website for consumers who prefer to use that format. In the unlikely event that a consumer cannot access the website, or print off a PDF, a printed copy can be provided on request.

49. The Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan will be available in both English and Scottish Gaelic. If a request is received requiring guidance in another language or braille, the request will be dealt with appropriately.

Legal Aid Impact Test

50. The Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan does not in itself create any new legal rights. It sets out a range of actions addressing barriers to the delivery of more housing in remote, rural and island communities and it is not anticipated that this will result in any legal challenges from employees or individuals.

Enforcement, sanctions and monitoring

51. The Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan includes a series of actions to address barriers to the delivery of housing in remote, rural and island communities. The actions will be voluntary and delivered collaboratively and we do not foresee they will result in any need for enforcement or sanctions.

Implementation and delivery plan

52. There will be on-going engagement with stakeholders including local authorities and community housing trusts following the implementation of actions set out in the Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan. Through current practices there is ongoing engagement with delivery partners and the sector so feedback can be communicated through these existing channels. Delivery of affordable homes in remote, rural and island areas is already undertaken through wider programme monitoring, this would continue.

Post-implementation review

53. The Action Plan has been developed to bolster the delivery of more homes in remote, rural and island areas and to meet the Scottish Government’s target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, 10% of which will be in remote, rural and island communities. Scottish Government publishes annual reports on affordable housing, as such the progress of the plan in meeting this target will be monitored through the delivery of more affordable homes in remote, rural and island communities.

54. The Minister for Housing will chair an annual summit on the progress of the Action Plan.

Summary and recommendation

55. We propose Option 2 as it is essential that the Scottish Government develop a series of actions to address the barriers to the delivery of more affordable homes in remote, rural and island communities. The Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan has been developed collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders in the housing sector.