Bold decisions needed to tackle Scotland’s housing emergency, says minister

Scotland needs both “bold decisions” and a “collective effort” to tackle its housing emergency, a Government minister has said.

Housing minister Paul McLennan said while there was a “strong track record” on housebuilding in Scotland, public funds needed to be “used more efficiently”.

He spoke out as the Scottish Government confirmed investment of £100 million will be used to support the construction of about 2,800 mid-market homes for rent across the country.

The money, announced in First Minister John Swinney’s programme for government earlier this year, will be topped up with cash from institutional investors – which should take the overall funding total to a minimum of £500 million.

The move comes as part of a commitment by the Scottish Government to leverage in more private sector cash for housing, helping to make public resources go further.

It comes after the Thriving Investments scheme used an initial £47.5 million of Scottish Government cash as part of a £222.5 million project to deliver 1,200 mid-market homes in Scotland.

Such properties can help provide accommodation for those lower incomes, and can also help people struggling to get a council or housing association home.

Mr McLennan said: “Tackling the housing emergency requires a collective effort and bold decisions.

“We already have a strong track record in housebuilding in Scotland and this commitment will ensure public funds are used more efficiently.

“Since 2007, we have supported the delivery of more than 133,000 affordable homes, including more than 94,000 social rented homes.

“However, we know we can do more to tackle the housing emergency and encouraging more private investment into the sector is one key aspect of that.”

The minister added: “This new model will encourage more private investment into the mid-market sector that we know is willing and able to invest and it will deliver affordable homes that people need.”

His comments come after figures  earlier this week showed that the number of new homes built in Scotland had plunged 17% last year.

According to official figures, 19,293 new homes were completed in the 12 months to the end of June 2024.

At the same time, councils had to deal with a rising number of homeless applications, with Scottish Government data showing there were 33,619 households classed as homeless in 2023-24.

As of March 31 this year, there were 16,330 households in temporary accommodation – with this up by 9% on last year to the highest total recorded by the Scottish Government.

This included a record 10,110 children who were in temporary accommodation, with this 5% higher than 12 months ago.