Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that specialist advice, capacity and expertise can play in enabling communities to develop and deliver their own housing projects, particularly in rural and island areas.

We are actively engaging with Communities Housing Trust to understand the implications of its decision and consider potential support, including how communities can continue to access the support needed to progress community-led housing projects.

The Scottish Household Survey (SHS), Scotland’s principal measure of volunteering participation, indicates that volunteering has continued to recover since 2023. The latest results were published in September 2026 and reported that the adult formal volunteering rate rose from 25% in 2024 to 27% in 2025. This demonstrates the sustained commitment of people across Scotland to supporting organisations and communities.

The following table shows the Adult formal volunteering rate by year, Scotland, 2019-2025

We recognise the vital role housing adaptations play in enabling older people to live safely and comfortably in their own homes.

We have protected the Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) Adaptations Programme budget, maintaining this at £20.9 million for 2026-27. Grant funding for adaptations for RSL tenants in Glasgow and Edinburgh is set and managed by the respective local authority.

The following table details the number of people support by RSLs for major and general adaptations:

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that older people who are digitally excluded, or at risk of poverty, can access the social security and financial support to which they are entitled, including those living in rural, remote and island communities.

To support this, Social Security Scotland offers a range of application and support channels, with individuals able to apply for devolved benefits by telephone, by post or face-to-face, as well as online. In addition, its Local Delivery service provides personalised support, including assistance with completing benefit applications and connecting people with wider sources of advice and support in their local area.

This approach helps to address both digital and geographical barriers to accessing support and is complemented by a range of communications activity to increase awareness of available financial assistance.

The Scottish Government also funds welfare and debt advice organisations and projects that provide access to advice and support across Scotland, including through Citizens Advice Scotland and local Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Our Benefit Take-Up Strategy 2026–2031, laid in Parliament on 21 October, sets out how we will build on activity to date, including progressing data sharing and developing more joined-up public services.

Section 41 of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 is to be implemented through regulations made under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. The Scottish Government is taking forward the work necessary to develop those regulations, including consideration of the practical, technical and regulatory implications of introducing such requirements. This work is being progressed alongside other priorities within the building standards work programme.

The Scottish Government is actively engaging with Communities Housing Trust to understand the implications of its decision and consider potential support, including how communities can continue to access the support needed to progress community-led housing projects.

The Third Sector Partnership Agreement is an opportunity to build on progress made through Fairer Funding, recognise the vital contribution of the third sector, and strengthen how we work together to design and deliver policy. We are establishing a Steering Group to support the co-design of the Partnership Agreement. This will bring together representatives from the third sector, national and local government, and independent funders; membership of the group will be published shortly. It will provide strategic leadership, expert insight, and development oversight to guide the co-design of the Partnership Agreement and support its effective implementation.

The assessment of how best to implement section 41 of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 is being taken forward through the building standards framework. This includes consideration of the practical, technical and regulatory implications of introducing a requirement for swift nest boxes, informed by engagement with relevant stakeholders and the established processes for changes to building standards requirements. The timing of commencement will be considered as part of the wider building standards work programme.

Scottish Household Survey results on percentage of adults reporting that noisy neighbours or regular loud parties were very or fairly common in their neighbourhood, by year and by local authority area, are publicly available from https://www.gov.scot/publications/neighbourhoods-communities-2023-findings-scottish-household-survey/documents/ (see table 2.31 in the OpenDocument Spreadsheet).

Scottish Household Survey results on percentage of adults reporting feeling safe when walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, by year and by local authority area, are publicly available from https://scotland.shinyapps.io/sg-scottish-household-survey-data-explorer/ (see table 2.52 in the neighbourhoods topic).