When it expects to issue revised guidance to local authorities on local housing strategies and whether the revised guidance will ensure tha…

I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows:
A number of changes will affecthow local authorities prepare their Local Housing Strategies. These include legislativechanges arising from the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, proposals to create a nationalStrategic Housing Investment Framework, and on-going work to ensure that assessmentsof future housing need are more consistent and more strongly linked to assessmentsof overall housing supply requirements for development planning purposes.
These changes will necessitaterevisions to the current guidance on the preparation of Local Housing Strategies.Local authorities are expected to update their current Local Housing Strategiesby early 2009. We propose therefore to issue a series of revisions to the guidanceto reflect these changes in sufficient time for local authorities to prepare bothfor the implementation of the Strategic Housing Investment Framework and for theirLocal Housing Strategies to be completed by the deadline.
Local housing needs assessmentsare complex exercises that must be prepared using robust methodology that takesaccount of both local and national requirements. We will shortly be piloting anexercise which aims to gather needs assessment information in a standard way. Whenthe exercise is rolled out across Scotland at the end of the year, it will help us to gain a betterunderstanding of the relationship between local and nationally undertaken needsassessments. More consistent and reliable local needs assessments will enhance theirvalue as a contributory element of soundly based development plans and in informingresource allocations.