Aberdeenshire Council's Social Work and Housing Committee is to implement the final changes to the housing allocation policy this week.

The changes, which came into force from yesterday (7 October), include moving the current points-based system to a banding system that will be more transparent and easier for applicants to understand. All existing applicants for housing will receive a letter advising them of their new banding and what the changes mean.

Further changes to the policy include giving additional priority to applicants with a local connection to Aberdeenshire and people leaving the armed services.

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From this week, the local authority will no longer be able to provide applicants with a waiting list position, but the banding provided will give an indication of the likelihood of an applicant being offered council housing in the future.

The way an applicant's medical condition is assessed is also changing as a result of the new policy.

Chair of Aberdeenshire Council's Social Work and Housing Committee Councillor Karen Clark said: "I welcome the changes to the policy, we are changing the way we assess an applicant's medical condition. These will now be called housing need assessments in the new policy.

"An applicant will only receive a banding for this if the medical condition is being affected by their housing circumstances. The assessment of this will now be carried out by housing staff as it is a housing assessment rather than an assessment of a medical need."

(JP/IT)