Affordable homes funding gets boost in Scotland

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Following the recent budget announcement of the Scottish Parliament, it has been revealed that an additional £17M will be reserved for the delivery of 50,000 new affordable homes, taking the total amount of affordable housing funding in Scotland to more than £840M.

According to the budget announcement, which was made on Thursday 6^th February 2020, the additional £17M was committed to the construction of affordable homes over the course of the current Parliament, helping them to achieve their target of 50,000 such homes during the current Parliamentary session.

However, a further £300M was committed to this cause beyond the targeted deadline, for the construction of affordable housing during the period of 2021-2022.

The Communities Secretary, Aileen Campbell stated: “Ensuring everyone has access to a safe, warm, and affordable place to call home is at the heart of our ambition for a Fairer Scotland. The 2020/21 Scottish Budget adds to the single biggest investment and delivery of affordable housing since devolution.

“The Scottish Government has now committed more than £3.5Bn to deliver good quality, secure, and affordable homes, which will in turn help create strong, sustainable communities. Since 2007 we have delivered more than 89,000 affordable homes, including 61,356 for social rent, with the remainder for affordable home ownership and affordable rent.

“Importantly, our spending plans also include a £300M commitment to guarantee that affordable homes continue to be delivered beyond our 50,000 target, ensuring councils, housing associations, and the construction sector have some financial certainty ahead of the spending review in June.”

In recent years, Scotland has proven itself to be very effective in providing affordable housing, as can be witnessed in their provision of 80 per cent more affordable homes, in proportion to their population size, than England over the course of the four years building up to 2019.

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