FMB Scotland applauds Scottish government’s investment in housing

Outlining the Scottish Government’s spending plans, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said over £470m of direct capital investment would be made available to begin delivery of 50,000 affordable homes. He also said over £140m had been earmarked for energy efficiency programmes to help Scotland deliver on its climate change targets.

He said: “This Budget invests heavily in housing. We delivered our target of building 30,000 affordable homes in the previous session of Parliament. Looking forward, we will deliver at least 50,000 new affordable homes, including 35,000 for social rent, over the current session. Today’s budget confirms the provision of around £470m of capital funding for housing in 2017-18, which, coupled with other funding mechanisms, will help to deliver that commitment.”

Gordon Nelson, director of FMB Scotland, welcomed the announcement and commented: “We hope that the announcements made today mark the start of a serious programme of investment, so that Scotland can build the world class homes and infrastructure it needs in these uncertain times.”

He added: “The Scottish Government is right to recognise the importance of investing in our existing housing stock. Scottish homes are amongst the oldest and least energy-efficient in Europe. They are in urgent need of upgrading. The latest figures show that 748,000 Scottish households are fuel poor, and over a quarter of our country’s CO2 emissions come from residential buildings. This underlines how important it is to bring our existing homes up to scratch.”