Local Housing Strategy

Our communities of practice are a group of like minded professionals that work (or have an interest in) an area of housing practice.

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About

The Local Housing Strategy (LHS) Forum supports local authority staff responsible for strategic planning to meet housing needs. This community of practice will be particularly relevant to officers and teams involved in preparing and implementing strategic plans, including Housing Need and Demand Assessments (HNDAs), Local Housing Strategies (LHSs), Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs) and Housing Contribution Statements (HCSs).  

This community of practice covers a wide and varied range of topics related to Housing Policy and Strategy, and is about highlighting common issues, sharing good practice and discussing the national strategic direction of travel. This community of practice will aim to provide you with useful examples from across the country, highlight new research, funding sources and projects, and provide an opportunity to learn from each other.  Representatives from both the Scottish Government’s More Homes division and Centre for Housing Market Analysis attend these forums to provide support to members working in this area.   

Who is it for

The group is for local authority officers with an interest in Housing Policy and Strategy and meets quarterly.

Key Content

1

Best practice in preparing HNDAs

2

Local Housing Strategy development, including consultation with stakeholders

3

Setting Housing Supply Targets including Wheelchair Accessible Housing Targets

4

Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs)

5

Developing other associated plans, e.g. on homelessness, health and social care or energy performance

6

Working with other stakeholders to implement the LHS

7

Examples of research and projects focussed on strategic approaches to housing need and improving housing outcomes

Latest News

Charter data for 2022/23 now available – SHN Benchmarking Tools updated

31-Aug-23
Scotland's Housing Network (SHN) is pleased to advise that our Benchmarking Tools have now been updated to reflect the Regulator’s new dataset, issued this morning (Thursday 31 August 2023).

SURF Awards 2023

29-May-23
SURF 2023 awards to launch on 8th June.

Scottish Fuel Fund

04-May-23
Funds secured by HACT and Melville are now available for housing associations to access, providing vouchers to support residents with rising fuel costs.

Publications and reports

SHN Value for Money Tool Guidance 2023

Guidance relating to SHN's cost Value for Money (VFM) Tool for 2023, v1.1 - updated 18 August 2023. Completed Returns should be submitted to data@scotlandshousingnetwork.org by no later than Friday 29th September 2023.

Member Query – Affordable Housing Account policies – July 2023

Member responses received to a recent member query on affordable housing account policies for local authorities - July 2023

Past Events

Charter Performance – A Sector Overview

SHN present an overview of Charter Performance for the Sector, based on SHN Member data received so far. An opportunity for discussion on performance and what we can expect to see for the year ahead.
15th Jun 2023
Microsoft Teams

Local Housing Strategy

Our next Local Housing Strategy forum includes an update on the new National Planning Framework (NPF4), information on the new Affordable housing initiative for key workers and updates from SG and CHMA.
12th Jun 2023
Microsoft Teams

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