BEFS Bulletin 353: Programme for Government rests; sector events take center stage

BEFS NEWS

After the recent announcement of the general election (UK) it has been announced that the Programme for Government (PFG) is now expected to take place in its ‘usual September slot’. The PFG team have confirmed they are returning to the original schedule planned prior to the change in First Minister, with proposals to be shared with relevant Scottish Government teams in June.  A slimmed down Programme is anticipated, framed around the four themes shared by John Swinney when setting out his government priorities in Parliament, namely eradicating child poverty; growing the economy; tackling the climate emergency; and improving public services.
A date for the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) has not yet been confirmed.

More on politics, Culture Counts has sent correspondence to the new First Minister and Cabinet Secretary querying the decision to remove the role of Minister for Culture, Europe, and International Development.

And on a final political note, The Heritage Alliance have issued a call in advance of the general election, encouraging all heritage organisations to consider action! The Heritage Manifesto 2024 published earlier this year is now more relevant than ever.

BEFS are pleased to see that the Social Value Toolkit (launched in 2021), which provides guidance on assessing and working with the social value of heritage places, is now seeking user feedback. Researchers at the University of Stirling are inviting input on how the Toolkit is being used and what further resources might be helpful. Whether you are a regular user or hearing about it for the first time, please share your thoughts via their short online survey.

BEFS congratulates all those nominated and the winners of the 2024 RIAS Awards, which were revealed this week. The eleven winning projects demonstrate outstanding new architecture across Scotland, including homes, workplaces, community, and cultural buildings. The winners of the RIAS Awards will now form the longlist for the prestigious RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award. The Doolan Award shortlist will be announced in July, with the winner revealed in November. More details on the 2024 RIAS Award winners can be found on the RIAS website.

And finally, Planning for Doors Open Days 2024, Scotland’s largest free festival celebrating places and stories, is underway. Find out more about this year’s September dates across Scotland and how to get involved. But if you can’t wait until September, there’s a bumper summer crop of events to explore in this edition of BEFS Bulletin!

CONSULTATIONS

National Performance Framework: Inquiry into proposed National Outcomes
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Government must, by law, review the National Outcomes for Scotland at least every five years. The Scottish Parliament must be consulted on proposed National Outcomes and considers the consultation the Government has carried out. The Scottish Government’s Report on proposed National Outcomes and its consultation was published on 2 May 2024. The Finance and Public Administration Committee is leading in considering the proposed National Outcomes, although some other Committees will wish to consider evidence in their areas of interest. There is one consultation for all Committees which seeks your views on the Government’s proposed National Outcomes.
Closes 28 June 2024

Inventory of Historic Battlefields – Revisions to Selection Guidance
Historic Environment Scotland (HES)
HES is proposing revisions to the battlefields selection guidance in response to recommendations made by Lichfields UK in a report that was commissioned in 2021 to inform best practice in the designation and management of inventory battlefields in the planning system. Many organisations and individuals play an important role in looking after Scotland’s historic battlefields, and their views are being requested to help HES to shape the changes being made to guidance to be applied when designating inventory battlefields.
*New* Closes 2 July 2024

Time limits for enforcement action for unauthorised Environmental Impact Assessment development
Scottish Government
Comments are invited on proposals to disapply Section 124 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (‘the 1997 Act’) concerning the time limits for taking enforcement action on unauthorised development which requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This follows a case of unauthorised development in Northern Ireland for which an EIA was required, but not undertaken. The need for EIA was only identified after the time limit for enforcement had expired and the development was immune from enforcement action. As the Scottish planning system is like the system in Northern Ireland, the Scottish Government considers it is possible, although unlikely, that a similar situation could arise in Scotland.
Closes 11 July 2024

Review of charity regulation
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government ran a consultation in 2019 about proposals the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) had made on improvements to the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. In response to that consultation, it was noted that some respondents wanted a wider review of charity regulation. This consultation aims to understand if people still feel that way and if so, what they think should be the purpose and parameters for a review.
Closes 22 July 2024

Tenement law: compulsory owners’ associations
Scottish Law Commission
In March 2018, a Scottish Parliament Working Group was convened to explore what actions could be taken to improve the condition of Scotland’s tenements. The Scottish Law Commission’s project follows from a reference under the Law Commissions Act 1965 received on 10 January 2022 from the (then) Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government (Shona Robison MSP). The reference asks for recommendations to be made to implement the Working Group’s recommendation that all tenements should have an owners’ association. Consultation is critical in all law reform projects to ensure that the final recommendations would, if implemented, result in law which is just, principled, responsive, and easy to understand.
Closes 1 August 2024

Flood resilience strategy
Scottish Government
Scotland’s climate has changed significantly and will continue to change for decades to come, resulting in the need to learn to live with and adapt to flooding in Scotland. The Flood Resilience Strategy will set out what needs to be done in the long term to create a flood resilient Scotland. The consultation paper sets out the principles guiding the strategy and the three key themes of people, places, and processes. These have been developed following a series of workshops and engagement with communities, practitioners, and researchers in 2023. The consultation paper contains full background information.
*New* Closes 13 August 2024

Compulsory Purchase Reform
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government have committed to reform and modernise compulsory purchase legislation. As a first step, they have established an advisory group to help support the reform programme. The group, to be co-chaired by the Chief Planner and Roseanna Cunningham, brings together several expert practitioners with first-hand experience of the compulsory purchase process. They recognise, however, that a range of organisations have an interest in this area and are consulting broadly and are keen to hear from a wide range of voices as the work moves forward.
Please get in touch at CPO.Reform@gov.scot

Strategic Plan Survey
Scottish Civic Trust
The Scottish Civic Trust are refreshing their Strategic Plan. To inform their future activities they are surveying people across Scotland about key themes related to their work. All input will help them better empower Scotland’s communities to act for shared spaces and places. All survey results are anonymous and will be stored on a Google Drive to which only Scottish Civic Trust has access. Analysed and summarised survey results will be shared in reports to Scottish Civic Trust’s funders and may appear in their annual reports.

NEWS RELEASES

Scotland’s Landscape Charter Review: workshop summary April 2024 (Scotland’s Landscape Alliance 03/05/2024)

Amid difficult landscape, 43 churches are saved for the future (National Churches Trust 10/05/2024)

What are local heat and energy efficiency strategies [LHEES]? (The Engine Shed 17/05/2024)

Homeownership for young adults has recovered to its 2010 level (Institute for Fiscal Studies 29/05/2024)

2024 Winners of Europe’s top heritage awards announced by the European Commission and Europa Nostra (Europa Nostra 30/05/2024)

General Election 2024: Scottish Civic Trust Manifesto (Scottish Civic Trust 03/06/2024)

COSLA has published its ‘Significant Seven’ asks for the incoming UK Government ahead of the general election. (COSLA 04/06/2024)

Scotland’s national architecture awards – RIAS Awards winners revealed (RIAS 04/06/2024)

PUBLICATIONS

The Heritage Manifesto 2024 (The Heritage Alliance April 2024)

Spotlight on: Low-income households (UK Heritage Pulse April 2024)

Third Sector Tracker and key stats on the size and shape of the Scottish voluntary sector (SCVO May 2024)

Focusing on the Skills Construction Needs (Construction Skills Network Scotland May 2024)

Labour market intelligence Report Scotland 2024-2028 (CITB 15/05/2024)

Report on rural and coastal housing crisis identifies ‘ghost enclaves’ of low-use homes and calls for action on second homes and short lets (abrdn Financial Fairness Trust 15/05/2024)

Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies: Historic and Traditional Buildings (HES 16/05/2024)

Letters to the new First Minister and Cabinet Secretary (Culture Counts 28/05/2024)

Reality and Delivery: Achieving Net Zero in Scotland’s Homes (Our Scottish Future 30/05/2024)

SCOTTISH & UK: GOVERNMENTAL & PARLIAMENTARY PUBLICATIONS

Correspondence between the Levelling Up, Housing & Communities Committee to the Department for Education regarding their lack of engagement on the committee’s inquiry on children, young people and the built environment (UK Parl 15/04/2024)

Correspondence between the Finance and Public Administration Committee and committee conveners regarding its scrutiny of the proposed national outcomes arising from the Scottish Government’s recent review (Scot Parl 03/05/2024)

New levelling up powers to fill empty shops across England (UK Gov 14/05/2024)

Cladding Remediation Bill passed (Scot Gov 14/05/2024)

Correspondence between Mairi Gougeon and the Net Zero, Energy and Transport on issues related to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill (Scot Gov 14/05/2024)

Delegated powers in the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill, as amended at Stage 2 (Scot Parl 14/05/2024)

Submission from the Climate Emergency Response Group to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee on the NPF4 annual review (Scot Parl 14/05/2024)

Community Energy Generation Growth Fund (Scot Gov 15/05/2024)

Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill as amended at Stage 2 (Scot Parl 15/05/2024)

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) (Amendment) Order 2024 Impact Assessments (Scot Gov 16/05/2024)

Working together to realise Scotland’s economic potential (Scot Gov 17/05/2024)

Official statistics: forthcoming publications (Scot Gov 17/05/2024)

Scottish local government finance statistics (SLGFS) 2022-23: workbooks (Scot Gov 17/05/2024)

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee: National Planning Framework 4 annual review (Scot Parl 21/05/2024)

Scotland’s Carbon Footprint: 1998-2020 (Scot Gov 21/05/2024)

Community action to reach net zero (Scot Gov 21/05/2024)

Priorities for Scotland: First Minister’s statement (Scot Gov 22/05/2024)

Single Building Assessment programme: spending information (Scot Gov 22/05/2024)

Planning and environmental appeals: guidance for reporters (Scot Gov 22/05/2024)

Short Term Lets Licensing Statistics, to 31 December 2023 (Scot Gov 23/05/2024)

Planning: core documents library (23/05/2024)

Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme: Progress Report 2023-2024 (Scot Gov 23/05/2024)

Correspondence between the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee and Mairi Gougeon asking for clarification surrounding the government’s planned amendments to the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill in relation to the rural support plan (Scot Parl 23/05/2024)

Levelling Up Partnership funding confirmed (UK Gov 24/05/2024)

Long-Term Plan for Towns: Long-Term Plan guidance (UK Gov 24/05/2024)

£5 million for Scotland’s island communities (Scot Gov 24/05/2024)

Visitor Levy Bill passed (Scot Gov 28/05/2024)

Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill – stage 3 debate: Investment Minister statement (Scot Gov 28/05/2024)

Climate change monitoring report 2024 (Scot Gov 28/05/2024)

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee Official Report & Minutes (Scot Parl 28/05/2024)

Planning circular 1/2024: householder permitted development rights (Scot Gov 28/05/2024)

Planning circular 2/2024: non-domestic permitted development rights (Scot Gov 28/05/2024)

Correspondence between The Open University and the Economy and Fair Work Committee expressing disappointment about funding cuts for upskilling and reskilling (Scot Parl 28/05/2024)

Local government finance circular 6/2024: council tax on second and long-term unoccupied homes guidance (Scot Gov 29/05/2024)

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Cross Sector Working Group minutes – March 2024 (Scot Gov 29/05/2024)

Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill (Scot Parl 29/05/2024)

The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (Scotland) regulations 2020: EQIA (Scot Gov 29/05/2024)

Scottish Building Standards Hub – May 2024 Update (Scot Gov 29/05/2024)

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee Annual Report 2023-24 (Scot Parl 30/05/2024)

Public appointment: Members appointed to the Board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (Scot Gov 30/05/2024)

List of special advisers who provide advice across all portfolio areas in the Scottish Government (Scot Gov 31/05/2024)

BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 108 (Scot Gov 31/05/2024)

Infrastructure levy for Scotland: discussion paper (Scot Gov 03/06/2024)

Planning permission appeals: housing development statistics (Scot Gov 04/06/2024)

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee Meeting (Scot Parl 04/06/2024)

OPINION & COMMENT

RIAS Quarterly: The Secret Lives of Buildings (Fraser/Livingstone Architects 01/04/2024)

Aviemore’s Earth House Wins BBC Scotland’s Home of the Year Award (BBC 10/05/2024)

Kate Forbes takes on key Minister for Culture responsibilities (The Herald 15/05/2024)

Championing improvement in Scotland’s planning system (Local Government Information Unit 15/05/2024)

Retrofit experts highlight critical actions required to reach net zero targets (Scottish Housing News 15/05/2024)

The beauty of concrete (Works in Progress 17/05/2024)

Mackintosh building restoration should be taken out of Glasgow art school’s hands, say experts (The Guardian 23/05/2024)

Culture Minister Lucy Frazer struggles to name any ‘at risk’ arts organisations (Arts Professional 23/05/2024)

Scotland’s net zero climate targets ‘never possible’ admits McAllan (The Herald 28/05/2024)

Heat pumps clarity would help our obligations on route to net zero (The Herald 28/05/2024)

New commission set up to protect built heritage in Glasgow (Glasgow Times 29/05/2024)

Scottish Empty Homes Partnership welcomes new national manager (Scottish Housing News 29/05/2024)

High-skilled apprenticeships have high returns – but funding via a ‘crackdown’ on higher education courses is challenging (IPPR 30/05/2024)

Scottish Borders Council declares housing emergency (BBC News 30/05/2024)

Global tourism is booming. These people would rather it wasn’t (BBC News 31/05/2024)

Retrofit work overshadows new builds at 2024 RIAS Awards (Urban Realm 4/06/2024)

MOTIONS

S6M-13197
Submitted by: Mark Griffin, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour.
Date lodged: 13/05/2024
That the Parliament believes that Scotland is in a housing emergency and that the housing emergency is more acutely felt in some parts of the country than others; acknowledges that the current situation is due to a combination of factors including those out with the Scottish Government’s powers, including a decade of UK Government austerity, soaring inflation and an increasing cost of living, labour shortages linked to Brexit, and a freeze to local housing allowance (LHA) rates; calls on the UK Government to reverse the near 9% cut in Scotland’s capital funding settlement, commit to ensuring that LHA rates will permanently meet at least the 30th percentile of local rents, and provide adequate support to local authorities impacted by the increase in asylum support cessations; recognises the Scottish Government’s record on delivering affordable homes and action taken on rent rises; notes that in 2024-25, despite the UK Government imposing a cut to its capital budget, the Scottish Government will invest nearly £600 million in affordable housing and over £90 million for discretionary housing payments; welcomes the actions in the Housing (Scotland) Bill to tackle rising rent levels and the continued focus on the target of delivering 110,000 high-quality, energy efficient affordable homes; agrees that the Scottish Government, UK Government and local authorities must work together to deliver a housing system that meets the needs of the people of Scotland; notes that there are a record number of people in Scotland experiencing homelessness with almost 10,000 children stuck in temporary accommodation and 45 children becoming homeless in Scotland every day; calls on the Scottish Ministers to bring forward an urgent housing emergency action plan to tackle the issues raised by the Scottish Government’s own expert Homelessness Prevention Task and Finish Group, including actions that will reduce the number of children stuck in temporary accommodation by the end of this parliamentary session; recognises the need to improve capacity in local government to prevent more local homelessness services falling into systemic failure, and the need to improve delivery for those with specific supported living needs, and calls on the Scottish Ministers to review how national government, local authorities and third sector partners are working together on the shared ambition to end homelessness.

S6M-13174
Submitted by: Graham Simpson, Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
Date lodged: 13/05/2024
That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Scottish Law Commission’s discussion paper on the proposed scheme for tenement owners’ associations; recognises that this discussion paper follows the work of the Tenement Maintenance Working Group, convened at the Scottish Parliament in March 2018, which was established to explore actions that could be taken to improve the condition of Scotland’s tenements, including those in the Central Scotland region; acknowledges that the Scottish Law Commission’s project responds to the Tenement Maintenance Working Group’s recommendation that every tenement building in Scotland should have an owners’ association to coordinate work to the building, and a corresponding reference received from the Scottish Government to that effect in January 2022; notes the discussion paper’s proposals concerning the functions, powers and duties of a tenement owners’ association, including the role of an association manager, decision-making procedures, liability of owners for costs and the implementation of an annual budgeting system, and further notes the encouragement for those with an interest in the issues raised in the discussion paper to respond to its proposals before 1 August 2024, in order to shape the recommendations made in the Scottish Law Commission’s final report.

S6M-13349
Submitted by: Tom Arthur, Renfrewshire South, Scottish National Party.
Date lodged: 22/05/2024
That the Parliament agrees that the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill be passed.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Link to Parliamentary Questions and Answers

DPEA – Planning Appeals Training for Communities
Date & Time: Wednesday 12 June 2024; 6-7:30pm
Location: Online
The Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) is part of the Scottish Government, dealing with planning appeals and a range of casework including wind farm proposals and electricity infrastructure. Join this event to hear about DPEA’s role, how it works and how communities can get involved. Open to all Community Councils and community groups. Planning Aid Scotland and DPEA reporters will introduce the key themes, followed by a panel discussion on questions from the audience. If you have any questions, please send an email by 31 May 2024. Make sure you use the subject heading ‘Planning Appeals Training’ so it reaches the right person. Please click here to book your place and joining instructions will be sent to you via email.

C&BS – Philanthropy Matters: Activating Legacy Giving
Date & Time: Tuesday 18 June & Tuesday 25 June 2024; 9:30am-12:30pm
Location: Online
This live classroom online course, led by Marina Jones, gives you the best possible foundations for activating and running legacy campaigns. Using a mix of presentation, small group discussion, real world practical case studies and academic research, you will learn how to raise more money from legacies. By the end of the course, you’ll have a strong understanding of the potential and joy of legacy fundraising and a plan for your legacy campaign. You’ll also feel more confident in how to approach legacy marketing with your Board, your staff and your audience.

RIAS – Retrofit, home design and ethics in Architecture
Date & Time: Tuesday 18 June 2024; 2-5pm
Location: Online
The RIAS are pleased to welcome Dr Heba Sarhan, Research Fellow – Architecture, University of Strathclyde and Michael Dougall, Director at O’Donnell Brown, for an insightful event exploring ethical approaches to housing design. This session will look at: home design as a tool for supporting access to experiencing ‘home’ and alleviating barriers of social inequality, research on how home design affects well-being and examples and case studies for achieving accessible, adaptable home design in practice.

Scottish Lime Centre Trust – Introduction to Stonemasonry
Date & Time: Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 June 2024; 9:30am-4:30pm
Location: Merryhill Training Centre, Charlestown, Dunfermline KY12 3DR
Taught by a time-served Stonemason, this course is suitable for all abilities and covers an introduction to tools, techniques, and uses of basic stonemasonry. The course is designed for individuals with little or no experience in cutting and dressing natural stone; building contractors working on traditional stone buildings and structures who just want to learn the basic masonry skills for cutting and dressing sandstone; or a semi-skilled operative who needs to add to his skills set and be able to produce stone masonry units to plumb, level and plane with traditional tooling finishes.