You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Scottish Budget: affordable housing spend cut by 16%
The Scottish government will reduce the amount of funding in its Affordable Housing Supply Programme by more than £100m next year.
In its Budget for 2021/22, the government has allocated £711.6m for the delivery of affordable housing, down 16% from the £843m it allocated in 2020/21.
The Budget did not provide any detail about affordable housing funding beyond the next financial year, despite pressure from the housing sector for the government to commit to a new long-term affordable housing programme.
The government’s current five-year £3bn Affordable Housing Supply Programme is set to come to an end in March.
Housing bodies have urged the government to commit to a new target of delivering 53,000 homes over the next parliamentary term, which will commence after the Holyrood elections in May.
READ MORE
Scottish housing minister Kevin Stewart said the government is delivering the Budget “against a shortfall of over £500m in consequentials for housing as a result of decisions taken in the UK government’s Spending Review last autumn”.
“While we have protected the housing budget from this as much as we can, it has of course had an impact on our overall budget for affordable housing, and we are calling on the UK government to urgently clarify their forthcoming plans to restore this funding to the levels required to deliver housing commitments in all parts of the UK,” he said.
In addition to the affordable homes funding, the Scottish Budget has allocated £81.6m for regeneration programmes, including £5m to regenerate Scotland’s vacant and derelict land.
Regeneration funding will also be used to promote the idea of the “20-minute neighbourhood”, where people can meet their needs within a 20-minute walk from their home.
A further £150m has been allocated for fuel poverty and energy efficiency measures.
Mr Stewart promised that the government will later this year publish its long-awaited Housing to 2040 strategy, “setting out a 20-year plan to deliver good-quality, energy-efficient, net zero-carbon housing with access to outdoor space, transport links, digital connectivity and community services”.
