Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill: equality impact assessment

Executive summary

The Scottish Building Safety Levy (SBSL) is a proposed new national devolved tax to be charged on the construction of new-build residential properties in Scotland. The estimated revenue target for the SBSL is £30 million per annum, which will be used to support funding of the Scottish Government’s Cladding Remediation Programme.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) aims to consider how policy may impact, either positively or negatively, on different sections of the population in different ways, looking specifically at the protected characteristics of: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. This EQIA has been undertaken to consider the impacts on equality of the Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill, which will introduce the SBSL – a revenue-raising measure to generate funds to support the Scottish Government’s Cladding Remediation Programme.

The evidence gathered through consultation and stakeholder engagement, as well as a review of existing data, does not indicate that the proposal will have any direct or significant equality impacts. It is our assessment that any indirect impacts are likely to be minimal and mitigated by the design of the policy which aims to minimise impacts on the broader housebuilding sector.