Maintaining Houses - Preserving Homes
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Maintaining Houses - Preserving Homes is the Scottish Executive consultation on proposals to improve quality in private sector housing. These proposals arise from the work of the Housing Improvement Task Force, set up by the Scottish Executive, to "address the significant problems of housing quality in the private sector". The Task Force report is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/hitf
The Scottish Executive is now consulting on how we propose to take these issues forward. The main areas are:
- Changes to the powers and duties of local authorities to intervene in poor quality and poorly maintained private sector housing.
- The introduction of a single survey as part of the house buying and selling process.
- Improved rights for tenants in the private rented sector.
More information on these issues is given in the summary papers in this pack.
We are keen to hear your views on these proposals and there are a number of ways that your voice can be heard.
This summary paper has three parts. Each of these has a question form that can be removed and returned in the enclosed reply-paid envelope. When replying, please ensure that you complete and return the Respondee Information Form at the end of this document.
We recommend that, if possible, you reply using the on-line form at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/maintaininghouses where you will find a copy of the full consultation paper. There is also a forum at that address, where you can discuss the issues raised in this consultation.
Finally, you can respond in writing to:
David Gow
Scottish Executive
Housing Division 2
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
or e-mail to:
housingconsultation@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
If you have any queries contact David Gow on 0131-244 5592.
All responses must be received by 29 October 2004.
This summary version is also available in a range of community languages and alternative formats on request from David Gow on 0131-244 5592. They can also be found on-line at the address above.
The Scottish Executive will be organising a number of free seminars across the country, where delegates will have an opportunity to discuss proposals in the consultation paper with Executive officials. If you would like details of these events, please contact David Gow on 0131-244 5592.
Consultation information
This consultation, and all other SE consultation exercises, can be viewed online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.
The Scottish Executive now has an e-mail alert system for SE consultations ( SEconsult). This system allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly e-mail containing details of all new SE consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements, but in no way replaces, SE distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all SE consultations activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We would encourage you to register.
Access to consultation responses
We will make all responses available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library by 26 November 2004 and on the Scottish Executive consultation web pages by 3 December 2004, unless confidentiality is requested. All responses not marked confidential will be checked for any potentially defamatory material before being logged in the library or placed on the website.
THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE CONSULTATION PROCESS
Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Executive working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Executive, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general, Scottish Executive consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.
While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body. Consultation exercises may involve seeking views in a number of different ways, such as public meetings, focus groups or questionnaire exercises.
Typically, Scottish Executive consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to specific questions or more general views about the material presented. Written papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the area of consultation, and they are also placed on the Scottish Executive website enabling a wider audience to access the paper and submit their responses.1 Copies of all the responses received to consultation exercises (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the Scottish Executive library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh EH11 3XD, telephone 0131-244 4552).
The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as part of the decision-making process. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:
- indicate the need for policy development or review
- inform the development of a particular policy
- help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
- be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented.
If you have any comment about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to:
Colin Affleck
Scottish Executive
Housing Division 2
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
E-mail: colin.affleck@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
1 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations
RESPONDEE INFORMATION FORM
