Supported Housing Task and Finish Group Main Report

4. The housing context

4.1 Housing Pressures

This report is published in a period of significant pressures on housing in Scotland exacerbated by a post pandemic context and cost-of-living crisis. Social and affordable new build programmes have not kept pace with demand, coupled with challenges acquiring and upgrading existing housing stock for social use. The range of pressures have impacted in profound ways, including rising homelessness and the largest number of households on record in temporary accommodation in Scotland.

The local authority leadership networks SOLACE and ALACHO published a joint report in July 2023 - Housing in Scotland: Current Context and Preparing for the Future [ref 15]. This report described the “unsustainable pressure reflecting the critical lack of capacity in local housing systems in Scotland” and concluded that “the housing reality in Scotland is that there are simply not enough social and affordable homes available and local authorities currently have inadequate means to reverse this position.”

In July 2023, and in response to the temporary accommodation task and finish group’s report [ref 1], the Scottish Government announced a £60m fund to support local authorities to make open or off market purchases of private properties in their area to be used as social housing. Information on the National Acquisition Programme was published in December 2023 [ref 16].

In December 2023, the Scottish Government presented the 2024-25 budget to the Scottish Parliament [ref 17] with a reduction of £196m (26%) in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) budget; £74m capital (16%) and £121m (71%) in financial transactions. There is now a corresponding reduction in Resource Planning Assumptions, the Scottish Government framework for councils to plan their housing supply. The inability to deliver on capital projects is attributed to a combination of reduced capital funding in real terms from the UK government, construction supply chain issues, labour shortages and high inflation.

4.2 How this interplays

Supported housing is part of a housing system which faces pressures and is therefore underperforming in some well evidenced areas:

(i) Competing Demands

Supported housing is a more expensive form of publicly funded accommodation met through housing benefit, local authority commissioning and charitable sources because it is intended to be adequately equipped to meet specific equalities and/or health and social care considerations. Like all specialist provision, it needs targeted effectively to those who can benefit most from it.

However, due to wider housing pressures it is understandable that any available capacity in supported housing is being used to provide temporary accommodation in some circumstances. This can either mean people having to stay in supported housing longer than they need it, or a placement to supported housing being made when a mainstream housing option is more appropriate for the person:

“Ideally we want to move people onto SST [Scottish Secure Tenancy], but housing waiting lists mean people staying longer than intended.”

(local authority survey respondent)

This has a knock-on effect on our ability to understand the real demand for supported housing and in ensuring that it is provided at the right scale at a local level. This is not person-led or cost-effective.

(ii) Potential of Land and Assets

The vast majority of buildings that supported housing is provided from in Scotland are owned by the local authority or a housing association – over 80% (19 areas) according to the survey undertaken for this report. Compared to the ideal types of supported housing described in the Shared Spaces research [ref 4]:

• 36% of properties meet the physical standards.
• 28% will require a full refurbishment to reach the standards.
• 25% will require some level of alteration.

Many Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) report challenges with the system of recycling capital grant attached to a property which is no longer fit for purpose. The Scottish Government guidance on recycling suggests that consent is possible but in practice RSLs have found this to be a challenge. For supported housing to meet the standards expected, the current system of recycling capital funding through the affordable homes programme will need reviewed so that the capital grant can reinvest with more ease in the reprovision of supported housing or refurbishment of existing schemes.

When supported housing is reprovisioned to better meet housing support needs locally, opportunities are presented for assets to be upgraded and improved:

“Would like to replace/refurb others to bring up to self-contained, ensuite provision.”

And in other cases, there may be potential for sites to be redeveloped for new build social and affordable housing. However, many RSLs report challenges with the system of recycling capital grant attached to a property which is no longer fit for purpose:

“Looking for a more suitable site to relocate the service.”

(local authority survey respondents)