SNP BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING SECTOR GROWS

SCOTTISH RATE OF AFFORDABLE NEW BUILDS LEADING THE WAY IN UK

Scotland’s affordable homes sector is providing low cost housing at a higher rate than any other part of the UK, figures sourced by SPICe suggest.

Across a number of measures, Scotland’s affordable sector is outstripping activity in the rest of the UK –  including on affordable home completion rates, where Scotland led the UK in 2015-16 with 41% of new completions being affordable homes, compared to only 16% in England. Scotland’s sector also performs better when affordable new builds are taken as a percentage of total dwellings.

And in every year since the SNP came to power in 2007 there has been a higher proportion of social sector homes built in Scotland compared with England. 22% off all new homes in Scotland were social sector completions in 2015-16.

Commenting, SNP MSP Ruth Maguire, who sits on Holyrood’s Local Government and Communities Committee, said:

“These figures show once again that it is the SNP leading the way across the UK in providing a supply of new, warm, affordable homes.

Whilst the Tories at Westminster are presiding over a housing crisis south of the border, the Scottish Government is taking decisive action to build more houses.

Since the SNP has been in power, Scotland’s affordable sector has been consistently outstripping building activity in the rest of the UK, including 41% of new completions in Scotland being affordable homes, and affordable new builds being 0.26% of total dwellings in 2015/16, compared with only 16% and 0.09% respectively south of the border.

And with the Scottish Government’s budget committing £470 million of direct capital investment to begin delivery of 50,000 affordable homes over the course of this parliament, it is clear that the SNP remains steadfast in our efforts to keep growing the housing supply across Scotland.”