Scottish housing green paper: initial response from Shelter

The paper sets out proposals in a number of areas, including:

- A commitment to increase overall housing output, in all tenures, from around 25,000 homes per year, at present, to 35,000 by 2015;

- Reform of planning and land assembly mechanisms: including better use of public land; more strategic allocations of land; and a possible national role for land assembly;

- Greater emphasis on the environmental impact of housing: including a Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative for new settlements;

- A new Low Cost Initiative for First Time buyers, bringing together public and private mechanisms to support marginal home-owners;

- Abolition of Communities Scotland by Spring 2008 with many functions being taken into core Government functions, but an independent regulatory function retained;

- A review of and possibly greater role for the private rented sector including a strengthened role in relation to meeting the 2012 homelessness target;

- The ending of Right to Buy on new build social housing and new arrangements for funding and supporting social housing providers.