St Andrews House, Edinburgh
10h00, August 29, 2007
1) Welcome and Introductions
Stewart Maxwell MSP, Minister for Communities and Sport, in the Chair, welcomed the Core Group of the Housing Supply Task Force to the first meeting.
In attendance:
Kennedy Foster Council of Mortgage Lenders, Scotland
Brian Gegan Chair, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
Ronnie Jacobs Chair, Homes for Scotland
Alan Lundmark Director of Planning, Homes for Scotland (for Bruce Black Executive Director)
Cllr Harry McGuigan CoSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing and Safety (Housing Portfolio)
Archie Stoddart Director, Shelter, Scotland
Tim Barraclough Deputy Director, Planning Modernisation and Co-ordination, Scottish Government (for Jim
MacKinnon, Director of Planning and Chief Planner)
Wendy Bullard Director, Area Network, Communities Scotland.
David Rogers Deputy Director, Housing Markets and Supply, Scottish Government
Task Force Secretariat:
Derek Bearhop Housing Markets and Supply, Scottish Government
Stephen Garland Planning Directorate, Scottish Government
Nicola Hay Planning Directorate, Scottish Government
Apologies from Cllr Alison Hay, CoSLA Spokesperson for Environment and Regeneration (Planning Portfolio) and Bruce Black, Homes for Scotland.
2) Context and Remit
The meeting discussed the background to housing supply issues in Scotland , the aims of the Housing Supply Task Force and the contribution each member expects to make to the work of the Task Force, and the context within which it will operate. The Core Group:
- Acknowledged the Government's priority of increasing the supply of housing across all types and tenures in Scotland as a means of tackling issues of affordability and ensuring the availability of a home for those who need one.
- Agreed the remit of the Housing Supply Task Force (HSTF) as :
"To identify and tackle impediments to increasing the supply of housing across all tenures - all with a view to ensuring that people across Scotland have the opportunity to access suitable housing that meets their needs and demands."
- Agreed that the definition of housing need within the Task Force remit encompassed an element of aspiration among people to move to a different type or tenure of housing.
- Agreed the need for ongoing awareness of linkages between elements of the wider housing system and the specific focus of the Task Force on supply and land for housing in the whole market. In particular, it was noted that the forthcoming Green Paper on housing will also consider issues affecting the delivery of social housing and other forms of affordable housing. Emphasis was also made to the links to other work being led by the Scottish Government such as the implementation of the modernisation of the planning system under the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006, the review of Scottish Planning Policy 3 : Planning for Housing, and current research on the value of Planning Agreements and the Effectiveness of Housing Land Audits.
- Discussed outputs from the Task Force process. It was considered that the Task Force should focus on achievable outcomes recognising that, whilst these may arise in relation to an issue in a particular geographical area, these may be applicable to other areas of Scotland. On this basis it was agreed that the initial work programme would focus on the identification and where possible delivery of actions to tackle obstacles to the provision of housing and would not therefore seek to produce a report on the Task Force findings.
- Agreed that, notwithstanding the need to allow members to discuss issues openly, a note of proceedings of each meeting would be made public as would a note of any actions and conclusions agreed by the Task Force.
- Discussed the operation of Task Force meetings and noted that it was crucial that the Task Force is not viewed as an external body directing change but one which seeks to build an alliance with stakeholders to find solutions. Agreed that the Task Force would not operate as a 'Commission of Inquiry'; rather it would seek a two-way, open, fact-finding and solution driven exchange between relevant parties.
3) Programme and Process
The meeting discussed the options for the working format of the Task Force and the geographies and themes that the Task Force might focus on initially. The Core Group:
- Recognised the challenge in addressing difficult local and generic issues and agreed that the Task Force required to rise to that challenge and be ambitious in its approach, alongside a willingness to be open and approachable.
- Discussed that in its initial work programme over the next 6 months the Task Force must have a focus on specific issues if it is to make effective use of time and resource. On this basis and taking account of the remit and aims of the Task Force, it was agreed that under an initial format meetings would focus on two themes: 1) specific issues blocking delivery of housing in focussed geographical areas; and 2) cross cutting themes affecting delivery of housing across different parts of Scotland.
- Agreed that the agenda would rotate on a three meetings basis so that the areas and issues explored in the first meeting would be revisited after 3 meetings in order to allow work to progress and for there to be an assessment of progress and, where appropriate, for solutions to be identified. The Task Force Secretariat were tasked with provision of a more detailed programme for the operation of the next meeting and handling note in advance of that meeting.
- Agreed that the geographical focus of the next Task Force meeting would concentrate on some of the specific issues affecting supply in the Edinburgh and Lothians area, with subsequent meetings to explore issues affecting Rural Scotland and the Greater Glasgow area.
- Decided that the potential contribution of surplus public sector land to assist in providing additional land for house building should be the cross cutting theme for the next meeting. Cllr Harry McGuigan of CoSLA volunteered to act as Rapporteur on this topic and to prepare a scoping paper for the next meeting outlining the form the study will take.
Other topics/issues were raised for further consideration at a future meeting:
- Role of enhanced community engagement in facilitating delivery of housing through the planning system
- Building capacity within the housebuilding industry
- Land holdings of house builders
- Land release mechanisms including consideration of practice from other countries
- Applicability of proposals in the UK Government's Housing Green Paper, particularly mechanisms such as Planning and Housing Delivery Grant.
- Noted that there has been a great deal of interest in the work of the Task Force. Members considered that it will be important to seek to draw upon this potential additional expertise to assist the work programme: to increase engagement with stakeholders and generate a wider sense of ownership of outcomes and to assist Task Force members in coming to conclusions on what are complex and difficult issues. It was agreed that Task Force meetings could be attended on an ad-hoc basis by those with specific expertise or responsibility for delivery in key areas under consideration. In relation to the geographical examinations, for example, invitations could be extended to local authority and developer interests.
- Agreed that on cross-cutting themes the Secretariat will support Rapporteurs in identifying potential ad hoc expertise to support work for presentation and discussion at Task Force meetings. Where appropriate, the Secretariat will also co-ordinate additional inputs on the geographical issues for subsequent report back at Task Force meetings. It was noted that the Task Force Secretariat would be available to support all members and not solely the Chair or Scottish Government functions.
4) Next Meeting
Set for 23 October 2007: proposed outline agenda.
- Consideration of Issues affecting key development in Edinburgh and Lothians.
- Consideration of proposals for investigation of the potential for more effective release and use of surplus public sector land to support delivery of new housing.
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