SECTOR body Homes for Scotland (HFS) has called for Scottish Government intervention to reverse the decline in all tenure housing delivery.
The move follows official statistics published today showing that starts and completions across all sectors fell by 12 and 10% respectively.
HFS described this as evidence of the ‘devastating impact’ that last year’s cut to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme is continuing to have on Scotland’s housing emergency.
Jane Wood, chief executive of HFS, said, “Whilst the recently announced restoration of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme funding in next year’s Scottish budget is welcomed, today’s figures stand as a stark reminder of the ongoing damage caused by last year’s cut to the housing budget, and the longer term impacts of the ‘stop and start’ nature of funding for affordable housing as the home building sector strives to increase capacity and new housing delivery to meet the challenges of the ongoing and sustained national housing emergency.
“Looking ahead to next year, it is crucial that the Scottish Government matches the commitment it is making financially to new housing delivery in the budget with an urgent review of the regulatory frameworks and policies that have been evidenced to consistently stifle the delivery of new high-quality, affordable and energy efficient homes across all tenures, as well as suppressing the growth of our sector, especially that of SME home builders.
“The Scottish Government must progress its Planning and Housing Emergency Delivery Plan at the pace necessitated by a national housing emergency, with urgent clarity required on how the newly proposed Housing Planning Hub will get the c.7,000 new homes across all tenures (as reported by our members) which have been stalled during 2024 moving again. The sector also requires equal clarity on the outcome of key national consultations (such as the Building Safety Levy and Accessible Homes Standard) which have the potential to considerably increase costs of new homes.
“As ever, HFS and its members stand ready to play their part in increasing the supply of high-quality, energy efficient and affordable homes across all tenures to tackle the housing emergency and provide their crucial expertise on how Scotland’s regulatory framework can deliver rather than block the new homes so desperately needed by Scotland’s people.”
