1,800 affordable homes stalled due to Scottish Government funding cuts, says trade body

Over 1,800 new affordable homes have been stalled due to funding cuts to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) by the Scottish Government, according to the trade body Homes for Scotland (HFS).  

HFS chief executive Jane Wood described the cuts as “devastating” for the sector. 

The AHSP budget was reduced by nearly 26 per cent in the Scottish Budget in March and housing minister Paul McLennan described it as “not a decision we wanted to make”. 

HFS said the data it has collected from its members revealed around 5,000 “new, high quality, energy efficient homes” have stalled because of the cuts – 1,826 are designated as affordable housing. 

Wood said: “These latest insights clearly illustrate the impact the devastating cuts to the Affordable Housing Budget have had on all-tenure housing delivery across Scotland, leaving thousands of vitally needed new homes across the country facing years of delay or, even worse, completely mothballed at a time of national emergency. This only adds further pressure to the 693,000 households already in some form of housing need. 

“With latest Scottish Government statistics showing housing starts and completions in rapid decline and new independent research highlighting the alarming contraction in small and medium-sized home builders, the housing sector is calling out for genuine emergency action from government. 

“The impact of the cuts that have devastated the housing budget is now clear for all to see.  The Scottish Government must utilise all powers within its own control to ease the pressures facing the housing sector to catalyse the delivery of new homes across all tenures, whether this be urgently reviewing proposed regulation and policy or tackling the untenable planning processing times that are stifling the speed of future development. 

“HFS, alongside other major housing stakeholders, has set out a clear Housing Emergency Action Plan to the Scottish Government. This is in addition to a range of evidenced solutions already submitted with the insights of our member companies who deliver the vast majority of all new homes across Scotland.” 

The housing minister has denied work on affordable homes has stalled because of budget cuts made by the Scottish Government. He also insisted that house-building targets can still be met.  

He said the SNP-led government had invested in housing but highlighted cuts to the Scottish capital budget.   

Speaking to the BBC, McLennan said: “The information that Homes of Scotland have hasn’t been shared with ourselves and I’d be delighted to discuss that with them. 

“I meet individual local authorities on a regular basis to discuss these sites.” 

He was also asked if the Scottish Government's target of building 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 was unrealistic. 

He said: “I think the target is achievable. 

“And one of the key things is how do we achieve that. And again, that’s very much partnership working with local authorities, with Homes for Scotland, with the UK Government and so on. 

“We’re focused and we’re determined to deliver on that target.”