Question reference: S5W-26360
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 12 November 2019
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Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 November 2019
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) meet the demand for accessible housing stock and (b) increase the use of accessible housing registers.
Answer
Local authorities are responsible for assessing the housing needs in their areas and setting out in their Local Housing Strategies how this will be met. Local Housing Strategy guidance published in September 2019 requires local authorities to set targets for wheelchair accessible housing across all tenures, including reporting annually on progress.
Increasing the supply of more wheelchair accessible housing will provide more choice and flexibility for disabled people and their families and contribute to the creation of a fairer and more equal society. The houses that we build now will support disabled people to access suitable homes in the areas they want to live now and in the future.
Through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, we provide a range of housing including new build, off the shelf purchases and rehabilitation projects. For new build projects, wherever possible, all affordable homes are built to Housing for Varying Needs standards. And 96% of new build homes delivered by housing associations and councils in 2018-19, where information was returned on Housing for Varying Needs, met that standard.
The Scottish Government fund Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living to provide Homes2Fit , a national online database and self-help resource to assist disabled people to find suitable housing. It also encourages social housing landlords to take account of local housing need when re-letting adapted properties.