Major investment looks to address housing shortages and support vulnerable groups
The Scottish government has announced a significant investment of up to £4.9 billion over the next four years, with the goal of providing around 36,000 affordable homes by 2030.
The initiative, outlined in the newly published Housing Emergency Action Plan, is intended to help address Scotland’s ongoing housing challenges and to offer secure accommodation for up to 24,000 children.
The funding package was presented to the Scottish Parliament by Màiri McAllan, cabinet secretary for housing. The plan prioritises the reduction of unsuitable accommodation for children, enhanced support for vulnerable groups, and the creation of conditions to encourage growth and investment within the housing sector.
In addition to the headline investment, the government will double its funding for property acquisitions to £80 million this year, aiming to move between 600 and 800 children out of temporary accommodation.
“Tackling the housing emergency will be a cornerstone in our efforts to achieve the Scottish Government’s key priority of eradicating child poverty,” McAllan (pictured right) said. “I am determined this action plan will deliver positive and lasting change.
“Our efforts so far since declaring a housing emergency have seen 2,700 families with children into a permanent home, up to December 2024. Our action plan will see tens of thousands more families have a place they can call home.”
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at industry body Propertymark, meanwhile, pointed out that while tackling empty homes and investing on more affordable housing are welcome, ongoing concerns about the broader housing market remain.
“New social rented sector housing completions are down by 26% and the SNP Government continues to fail to recognise that the vast majority of private rented sector homes are provided by individual landlords,” he said. “These are people who are being disincentivised to stay in the market or invest as housing providers because of burdensome legislation and damaging rent control measures.
“If the Scottish government is serious about bringing down the cost of renting, then Scotland needs a taxation system that allows for housing mobility and where landlords can invest in improvements without having to significantly raise rents and pass costs on to tenants.”
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