Purpose

All Local Authorities are required by the
Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 to have a Scheme of Assistance (SoA)
setting out the circumstances in which it will provide homeowners
and private tenants with advice, practical support and financial
assistance to help them repair, maintain, improve or adapt their
homes. A review of Aberdeenshire Council’s SoA is required
because of changes to service deliver in response to budget
pressures.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 also requires local authorities to
have a Below Tolerable Standard and Housing Renewal Area Policy
within their Local Housing Strategies. These polices have been
reviewed in line with the Policy Review and Development Framework
and to take account of the recently published Local Housing
Strategy 2024-29.

The report seeks comments on the policies which will be presented
to Communities Committee for approval in February 2025.

Content

To provide the following comments to
Communities Committee on the draft Scheme of Assistance:
 
1.    
To express concerns about the impacts of service provision changes
as outlined in the report and Integrated Impact Assessment, in
particular:
a.    
impacts on Health and Social Care;
b.    
impacts on unpaid carers; and
c.    
that it would be a matter of ‘save now, pay later’.
 
2.    
When making budgetary decisions there were moral obligations to be
cognisant of in addition to statutory obligations.
 
3.    
There was a fine margin between those who would qualify for an 80%
grant and 100% grant – for example those who may be on a
small pension but not in receipt of income related benefits would
only qualify for 80% but may struggle to meet the rest of the
costs.