Name: Fiona Ellis

Title: Senior Manager (Housing Strategy & Development)

It is our strategic ambition for all our people to live in the right homes, in great places, with access to any support services they need. Four overarching outcomes have been established and form the structure of the Local Housing Strategy 2023 to 2028. These outcomes were agreed with local people and align to the Scottish Government’s ‘Housing to 2040’ strategy.

• More homes at the heart of great places
• Affordability and choice
• Affordable warmth and zero emissions
• Improving the quality of our homes

The Local Housing Strategy sets out how the Council, and its partners, will tackle housing issues in the area over the next five years. The strategy enables the Council to monitor progress against both national and local priorities and targets.

The Local Housing Strategy has the scope to impact on anyone living in the area or who is considering moving to the area, who may need housing, housing related services, or housing support.

The strategy’s progress will be measured against the associated Action Plan: these actions will be subject to quarterly performance monitoring. An annual performance report will be submitted to the Cabinet of North Ayrshire Council – the report will then be published on the Council’s website.

The Local Housing Strategy (including impact assessments, annual performance reports, and supporting documentation) will be published on the Council’s website.

The Local Housing Strategy is designed to be flexible, response, and dynamic. The strategy will be subject to ongoing review and revision as appropriate. At a strategic level, the strategy will be reviewed on a five-yearly basis.

Throughout the development of both the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment (HNDA) and the Local Housing Strategy, we have continued to offer engagement opportunities to the people of North Ayrshire, professionals whose work concerns housing or housing related services, and any other individuals or organisations who have an interest in housing.

The Right to Health includes both the right to healthcare and the right to a range of factors that can help us lead a health life (the determinants of health) Equality and non-discrimination are fundamental to this right. The Right to Health has four related concepts: goods, facilities, and services should be available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality.

When thinking about how the policy might impact on people, their human rights, and the factors that help people to lead healthy lives and consider:

• Is the policy available to different population groups?
• Is the policy accessible, e.g., in terms of physical access, communication needs, transport needs, health literacy, childcare needs, knowledge and confidence?
• Is the policy acceptable to different population groups, e.g. is it sensitive to age, culture, and sex?
• Is the policy of good quality, enabling it to have its desired effects and support the above?

To comply with the general equality duty of the Equality Act 2010 when conducting an impact assessment, ‘due regard’ must be demonstrated for the need to:

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act.
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it.
• Foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it.

This means that as a local authority we must identify, record, and eliminate (through appropriate policy changes) any impacts that could amount to unlawful discrimination under the Act. Wherever possible, we must also try to identify, record, and enhance any impacts that enable the policy to advance equality of opportunity or foster good relations.

Further to this, under the Equality Act 2010, Part 1, the Fairer Scotland Duty came into force from 1st April 2018. This places a legal responsibility on local authorities to pay due regard to inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage can be reduced, when making strategic decisions.

Throughout this impact assessment, we have assessed:

• Positive impact: would demonstrate the benefit the policy could have for a population group: how it advances equality, fosters good relations, contributes to tackling health inequalities or upholds human rights.
• Negative impact: would mean that a population group is at risk of being disadvantaged by the policy, there is a risk of breaching the human rights of people or the requirements of the Equality Duty, or that there is a risk of widening health inequalities.
• No impact: if it is found that the policy will have no impacts for some groups, there is no need to record this information.

The LHS will be key to reducing inequality through the associated Action Plan which will contribute to the four outcomes aligned to ‘Housing to 2040.’

The LHS promotes equality of opportunity by offering a range of housing options across tenures that meet general and specialist needs. The LHS and the associated Action Plan aim to advance equality of opportunity by:

• Delivering the North Ayrshire Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan, aligned to the ‘Equally Safe’ Strategy, to achieve a reduction in domestic violence and achieve the Violence Against Women National Standards accreditation.
• Engaging further with Gypsy/Travellers to ensure housing solutions that meet their needs, listening to Gypsy/Travellers from unauthorised encampments to better understand and respond to their needs, and carry out an options appraisal on potential site improvements.
• Reviewing and updating our Scheme of Assistance to ensure the promotion of positive outcomes for people living with autism in the private sector; ensure inclusive engagement with hard-to-reach groups; and ensure our literature is available in a format that is accessible.
• Review and update our Tenant Participation Strategy to ensure our literature is available in a format that is suitable for people with literacy, sensory, or communication issues.

As our policies are guided by placemaking and community sustainability principles they will help facilitate good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not. The LHS and the associated Action Plan aim to foster good relations by:

• Developing and delivering an LGBTQ+ informed housing service.
• Taking a zero tolerance approach to any form of harassment or bullying directed towards tenants, taking legal action as appropriate.
• Training staff to understand cultural differences and challenges faced by different ethnic groups.

Yes, the strategy focusses on giving all people in North Ayrshire access to good quality housing with the right support in place, to allow them to live independently at home for as long as they wish to do so.

Articles and potential areas for consideration.

The LHS is a corporate document that has been produced collaboratively with input from officers from various departments ensuring that the LHS, or other policies combined with the LHS, do not inadvertently have negative impacts on population groups.

Many discussions have taken place throughout the drafting of this LHS with input from corporate stakeholders, housing professionals, and our local communities.

The Local Housing Strategy 2023 to 2028 sets out how the Council, and its partners, will tackle housing issues in the area over the next five years. The strategy enables the Council to monitor progress against both national and local priorities and targets. It is our strategic ambition for all our people to live in the right homes, in great places, with access to any support services they need.

Four overarching outcomes have been established which have been agreed with local people and align to the four key strategies in the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy:

• More homes at the heart of great places
• Affordability and choice
• Affordable warmth and zero emissions
• Improving the quality of our homes

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and child wellbeing indicators under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 apply to all children and young people up to the age of 18, including non-citizen and undocumented children and young people.

The strategy acknowledges the legislative links at a national level, such as the 2014 Act and the Getting it Right for Every Child policy. At a local level, we acknowledge the link between the strategy the Council Plan, the North Ayrshire Children’s Services Plan, and the North Ayrshire Child Poverty Action Plan.

North Ayrshire has the second highest level of child poverty after housing costs in any area of Scotland. The strategy will support the Council Plan priority that children and young people receive the best start in life. When services are delivered, the impact on child poverty will be considered and support processes will be in place to mitigate any negative impacts. The strategy makes clear that access to good quality and affordable housing is key in addressing child poverty, acknowledging the evidence link between improved cognitive development and reduced behavioural issues when children live in attractive, warm, and well-ventilated environments.

One of the aims of the strategy is to attract investment, referring to the Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) which anticipates building 1,625 new homes by 2028 (private developers are expected to build 1,300 new homes in this period). The strategy outlines that these homes will be energy efficient, will focus on meeting housing need, and will be key to tackling child poverty. Ensuring that housing remains affordable will have a positive impact on tackling child poverty by keeping housing costs down.

The strategy outlines the household composition of homeless applications in North Ayrshire – 22% are from households containing children. While the strategy outlines that we strive to ensure temporary accommodation meets the needs of children, given the adverse effects of homelessness on children the primary focus is on the prevention of homelessness.

The “Housing/Throughcare” protocol outlines our integrated service response, so that no young person becomes homeless on leaving care and care leavers are provided with appropriate levels of support to achieve independence. The effectiveness of the protocol is evidenced by low levels of young people leaving care within the homelessness statistics for North Ayrshire (there has been one approach in the last four years).

The strategy outlines a pathway for the reduction of fuel poverty, which can affect low-income households – including those with children.

The strategy acknowledges the importance of digital connectivity as a means of allowing children access to education. North Ayrshire Council will work with the Scottish Government to achieve the goals set out in the National Housing Strategy. The Council have taken early action that from 2021 to 2022 all new build social rented homes will be digitally enabled. Further to this, the Strategic Housing Investment Plan outlines the commitment to having allocated study space areas in new social housing, which can support educational attainment for children and young people.

The strategy sets out a vision for safe and secure places which will have a positive impact on children and young people. As regards wellbeing, the strategy identifies that the number of neurodiverse people is rising, which includes children who can have very complex needs surviving into adulthood. The strategy refers to the Scottish Strategy for Autism, which sets out a joined-up approach that will ensure housing and places can support wellbeing outcomes and that housing can accommodate the increase in neurodiverse people.

“Direct” impact refers to policies/measures where children and young people are directly affected by the proposed changes, e.g. early years, education, child protection, or looked after children (children in care). “Indirect” impact refers to policies/measures that are not directly aimed at children but will have an impact on them. Examples include welfare reforms, parental leave, housing supply, or local transport schemes.

As a direct impact, it part of the strategy’s associated action plan that:

• 100% of young people are supported as they leave care and move into their own home.
• Fewer young people will become homeless.

The Local Housing Strategy has the scope to impact on anyone living in the area or who is considering moving to the area, who may need housing, housing related services, or housing support. The strategy will have an indirect impact on the lives of children and young people.

Examples of this include refugees and asylum seekers, domestic abuse, homelessness, fuel poverty, property conditions, disabilities and neurodiversity, ethnic minorities, welfare advice, tenancy support, regeneration, and affordable housing. The strategy will have a positive impact on the lives and wellbeing of children and young people, either by improving living conditions, providing mechanisms to alleviate poverty, or providing child friendly estates.

Under the UNCRC, “children” can refer to: individual children, or children in general. Some groups of children will relate to the groups with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010: disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation. “Groups” can also refer to children by age band or setting, or those who are eligible for special protection or assistance: e.g. preschool children, children in hospital, children in rural areas, looked after children, young people who offend, victims of abuse or exploitation, child migrants, or children living in poverty.

The following groups of children and young people have been identified as those potentially affected by the Local Housing Strategy:

• From low income households
• Living in deprived areas
• At risk of homelessness or homeless
• Victims of domestic abuse/part of a family affected by domestic abuse
• Looked after/accommodated children and young people
• Care experienced young people/young people leaving care
• Those with a protected characteristic

No. The Local Housing Strategy affects children and young people indirectly.

A Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment is not required.

Name: Katie Bell

Position: Team Manager (Housing Strategy), Housing & Public Protection

Name: Fiona Ellis

Position: Senior Manager (Housing Strategy & Development), Housing & Public Protection

The Local Housing Strategy 2023 to 2028 sets out how the Council, and its partners, will tackle housing issues in the area over the next five years. The strategy enables the Council to monitor progress against both national and local priorities and targets. It is our strategic ambition for all our people to live in the right homes, in great places, with access to any support services they need.

Four overarching outcomes have been established which have been agreed with local people and align to the four key strategies in the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy:

• More homes at the heart of great places
• Affordability and choice
• Affordable warmth and zero emissions
• Improving the quality of our homes

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 requires local authorities to consult on their local housing strategies.

The strategy identifies our islands as Arran and Cumbrae; Cumbrae refers to Greater Cumbrae as there are no housing interventions required for the uninhabited Little Cumbrae island.

As mentioned above, there are four intended outcomes which reflect the four key strategies in the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy:

• More homes at the heart of great places – our places support thriving and inclusive communities.
• Affordability and choice – our people have affordable homes in the places they choose to live.
• Affordable warmth and zero emissions – our homes are energy efficient and release less emissions.
• Improving the quality of our homes – our homes are in good condition and people can access any support services they need.

Whilst the strategy and associated action plan are intended to be rolled out across North Ayrshire, in some instances island-specific interventions have been identified to address island-specific challenges. The strategy provides information on how these desired outcomes will be achieved for our island communities.

This is not our first local housing strategy and builds on the progress made by the previous Local Housing Strategy (2018 to 2022).

Data has been sourced from the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment 2020 (HNDA) and from engagement with island residents, businesses, and other stakeholders. Engagement with corporate colleagues who are working with island communities has also been undertaken. However, given the relatively low sample sizes for datasets related to the islands, figures can be skewed. The Scottish Government is working with various rural and island representatives to identify ways of securing more robust island-based data. This is particularly pertinent given the changing policy landscape in relation to second homes, short term lets, the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, and the emerging Scottish Government repopulation strategy.

The same data sets have been used to analyse the housing situation on both islands. These are supported by engagement undertaken with stakeholders on each island, to identify the island-specific pressures.

The Local Housing Strategy 2018 to 2022 introduced a Local Lettings Initiative, giving some recognition of the role that social rented sector allocation policies could have to support the retention of local people and key workers in a housing market where rents are high. This has encouraged more people on the Arran housing list, which in turn better informs our data.

North Ayrshire Council have also employed an Islands Senior Officer whose remit is to lead the economic recovery of the islands post-covid and put in place policies that pertain to community sustainability and repopulation. As housing plays a pivotal role in these aspects, the Local Housing Strategy 2023 to 2028 will have significant input from this Officer. Finally, engagement with our islands adds weight and understanding to island analysis.

A range of stakeholders were consulted on the draft document, including but not limited to: North Ayrshire tenants and residents, North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, Public Health Scotland, Homes for Scotland, North Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership, North Ayrshire Registered Landlords, and a range of Council services.

Throughout the development of both the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment (HNDA) and the Local Housing Strategy, we have continued to offer engagement opportunities to the people of North Ayrshire, professionals whose work concerns housing or housing related services, and any other individuals or organisations who have an interest in housing.

Engagement included: social media posts, tenant engagement, press releases, and an update on our website. Consultation on the final draft of the strategy took place between 12 December 2022 and 11 February 2023.

The Arran Task Force has appointed consultants who will carry out a piece of work to identify the level of housing need on the island. An Arran Housing Demand and Supply Analysis was carried out in February 2023; this report considered the supply of social housing on the island, demand from Arran residents, and provided an analysis of the private rented sector housing supply on Arran. The February 2023 report will be used to inform the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment being commissioned for the island.

The Arran Task Force has appointed consultants who will carry out a piece of work to identify the level of housing need on the island. The Task Force comprises of members from North Ayrshire Council, key stakeholders and partners, and the Scottish Government.

A summary is provided below of the concerns raised previously by island communities:

• Costs of construction and access to land is an issue across the islands
• Second homes in both islands and an overheated housing market in Arran
• Short term lets playing their part in overheating housing markets
• General lack of housing supply impacting on community, labour market, key workers, and economic viability

Yes.

The Local Housing Strategy acknowledges that there are unique impacts faced by our islands and includes measures to address these.

• Economic challenges on the islands;
• A high number of second homes on the islands;
• High costs of construction and a lack of infrastructure on the islands is an issue;
• The high number of short-term lets impacts the number of properties available for private rent, which leads to inflated rent prices;
• There is a link between the lack of available housing, the impact on island communities, the labour markets, key workers, and economic viability;
• An increased number of homes on the islands lack central heating; and
• Population decline and significantly higher older person demographic.

The Local Housing Strategy includes measures to address these impacts, outlined below.

• The Scottish Government has committed to introducing legislation which will allow local authorities to cap the number of second homes in an area. The Arran Housing Task Force has been established, aimed at finding long-term solutions to Arran’s housing challenges. The Task Force involves a wide range of partners to address the issues which face island residents and businesses.
• It is more expensive to build new homes on our islands. These issues are being explored as part of our Community Wealth Building approach and our Island Recovery Plan.
• We introduced the “Local Lettings Initiative” on Arran – island applicants were considered in line with the guidelines of our common allocation policy, then also awarded additional points if they lived or worked on the island.
• There is a lack of central heating in rural North Ayrshire, with significant spikes on the islands. It is a desired outcome of the strategy’s associated action plan that we will reduce fuel poverty and increase affordable warmth throughout the lifetime of the strategy.

You must now determine whether in your opinion your policy, strategy, or service is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities). If your answer is no to the above question, a full ICIA will not be required, and you can proceed to Step 6.

No. Whilst some policy interventions will be tailored to our islands, it is to ensure the islands enjoy the same opportunities as living on the mainland.

Delivery mechanisms will potentially differ as necessary between islands but are unlikely to differ between settlements on each island.

The Arran Housing Taskforce has been established and involves a wide range of partners to address the issues which face island residents and businesses. This group meets on a regular basis and ensures continuing consultation with island communities in respect to any developments concerning housing on the island.

Yes, through both engagement and this impact assessment.

Within the Local Housing Strategy’s associated action plan there are numerous actions that may have an indirect impact on the islands. However, there are no island-specific indicators or targets that will require monitoring.

The strategy’s progress will be measured against the associated Action Plan: these actions will be subject to monthly performance monitoring. An annual performance report will be submitted to the Cabinet of North Ayrshire Council – the report will then be published on the Council’s website.

The strategy has been drafted for all North Ayrshire residents, which includes those on our island communities.

This assessment has highlighted the importance of strong community engagement, particularly to offset any data gaps.

Yes.

This document is available in other formats such as audio tape, CD, Braille, large print, and other languages on request.

This Island Community Impact Assessment will be published on the Council’s website for anyone who wishes to review the content.

ICIA approved by: Katie Bell

Position: Team Manager (Housing Strategy)

ICIA approved by: Fiona Ellis

Position: Senior Manager (Housing Strategy & Development