Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Progress Report on Scotland’s Action Plan for Rare Disease (August 2024) noted the discussions taken forward with NHS Scotland regarding the implementation of Future Care Planning, shared decision making and the Right Decision Service. These are all useful tools that can be used by people with a rare condition to encourage agency in making the most of consultations, and assist healthcare professionals in knowing what matters most to the person involved. We will continue to promote the use of these tools and any others for people living with a rare condition.

Scotland’s Action Plan for Rare Diseases (2022) set out actions to improve co-ordination of care for rare conditions. Our recent Progress Report (August 2024) noted progress including Future Care Planning, shared decision making and the Right Decision Service, all of which we will continue to promote as useful tools to improve the co-ordination of care.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with stakeholders across the private rented sector to understand issues that may impact on landlords and their ability to fulfil their legal obligations.

Where necessary, Business and Regulatory Impact Assessments (BRIAs) are used to assess the costs, benefits and risks of any proposed legislation that may have an impact on the public, private sector, third sector or regulators.

We will continue to engage and listen to the views of landlords, tenants and investors, through the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Stakeholder Group, the Housing Investment Taskforce, as well as ongoing targeted stakeholder engagement.

The following table outlines the last five financial years of allocations for Fair Start Scotland:

The First Minister confirmed the Scottish Government’s intention to bring forward a Heat in Buildings Bill in the recent Programme for Government. We will continue to work with businesses, including the private rented sector to understand the impacts and benefits of our proposals. The Bill and any subsequent regulations will each be accompanied by a full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment.

We are committed to working constructively with landlords, tenants and investors in policy development and implementation. The Private Rented Sector (PRS) stakeholder group, established in March 2023 and the Housing Investment taskforce, established in April 2024 are two forums that are in place to support this engagement.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken such a mapping exercise. Local Authorities, as the statutory housing authority for their area, are required to prepare Local Housing Strategies, informed by an assessment of Housing Need and Demand, which considers both the existing supply of housing alongside future requirements. Local Authorities are expected to develop a broad understanding of the extent and location of the Private Rented Sector across their area to support the development of the Local Housing Strategy.

It is important that landlords and tenants are supported to understand their rights and responsibilities. Support for landlords and tenants, including the potential for training opportunities, will form part of our planning for the implementation of the new legislative requirements in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, if passed.

With respect to prospective legislative change that will affect the private rented sector, the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Housing (Scotland) Bill will be published shortly and this considers the cumulative impact of policy on the private rented sector.