Scots slash £173m from housing budget

The Scottish Government announced yesterday that £352 million had been allocated to its affordable housing investment programme for 2010/11- a third less than this year’s £525 million budget. The administration has also slashed £10 million from its general housing and regeneration, community engagement and private housing budgets.

Next year’s cut is partly due to the government’s economic recovery programme, which brought forward £120 million from the 2010/11 budget into 2008/09 and 2009/10.

But Michael Levack, chief executive of the Scottish Building Federation, warned that the Scottish construction industry could now hit a second slump unless urgent action is taken to fill the ‘black hole’ in future budgets.

‘[The] draft budget reveals a gaping black hole in funding for capital projects, which must be filled,’ he added. ‘The accelerated capital expenditure included in this year’s budget was badly needed and is helping to sustain the construction industry through some particularly lean times. But as we start to make the first tentative steps towards recovery, to turn off the spending tap next year would be an absolute disaster.’

Andrew Field, deputy chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said it was disappointed that the Scottish Government was unable to maintain investment levels.

‘There are thousands of families in desperate need of good quality affordable accommodation in Scotland and skilled construction workers have lost their jobs,’ he said. ‘Maintaining investment levels in this sector would help address those issues. The SFHA intends to press home these points to the government over coming weeks.’

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