This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Plan lays foundations of homes for all
30/09/2004
Scotland will gain 21,500 affordable homes as a result
of a three-year, £1.17 billion plan to give everyone a
decent home and support growth in the economy.
The new plan, announced today by Communities Minister
Margaret Curran, represents a one-third increase in housing
approval rates over current levels, rising from around
6,000 homes per year to 8,000 in 2007/08.
This means that more homeless people will be able to get
out of temporary accommodation, more people on waiting
lists will get rented housing, and more first time buyers
and essential workers will be helped onto the first rung of
the property ladder.
By 2007/08, the Executive's funding package means that
the rate at which new homes for social rent are approved
for construction will increase to 6,400 per year: the
biggest programme of social rented housing provision since
the late 1980s - twice as many per head compared to current
English plans.
It will also allow expansion in support for low-cost
home ownership, with 5,000 homes to be approved over the
three year period.
Ms Curran said:
"An extensive review of affordable housing undertaken by
the Executive this year confirmed that Scotland has real
housing hot-spots, where getting hold of a decent home is
hard.
"The review gives us up-to-date, detailed, information
which we can now use to set about tackling the problem.
"Today's huge boost in housing investment will expand
supply of new affordable housing at the fastest possible
pace.
"It means that we will be able to meet a range of
housing objectives simultaneously.
"We will tackle acute demands for affordable housing in
pressured housing markets - urban and rural.
"At the same time we can keep driving forward the task
of breathing new life into run-down and unpopular areas,
demolishing, refurbishing and rebuilding to give people the
housing they deserve.
"But it's more than just bricks and mortar everywhere.
We also need to work smarter, not just harder. We need
wider understanding of local markets, better forecasting,
and smoother planning systems to deliver the right homes in
the right places at the right time.
"That's work we will be taking forward, and in
forthcoming weeks, I'll provide more detail on just how we
are to meet that challenge. This is a real example of
devolution delivering for Scotland."
The housing investment programme will be managed
primarily by Communities Scotland, the Executive's housing
and regeneration agency.
Key points from today's announcement
- Raising the overall target for affordable house
building from the current three-year target of 18,000
new approvals to 21,500, consisting of 16,500 homes for
social rent and 5,000 for low-cost home ownership
- This means an increase in overall annual output
from a current level of around 6,000 units to 6400 next
year, to 7100 in 2006/07 and 8000 in 2007/08
- The increase in social rented homes will help
towards the 2012 target to give all homeless people the
entitlement to a permanent home, while also improving
the availability of social housing for rent for people
on housing waiting lists
- The increased creation of low-cost homes will help
meet the aspirations of those on modest incomes who are
seeking to move into home ownership or have been priced
out of the market in areas of high housing demand
- Consultation on a new system for the delivery of a
more efficient and strategic housing investment
programme, including how best to manage funding to
maximise flexibility and make best use of
resources
- Consultation on the potential for new Housing
Market Area Boards which could provide a mechanism to
advise on regional priorities, and inform investment
decisions at this level
The Spending Review plans relate to financial years
2005/6-2007/8. They provide a total of £345/347/389m for
new supply and replacement of affordable housing.
This means an increase in direct spend by the Executive
on affordable housing from £286m in 2004-05. The figure
rise to 378/376/418m when receipts and funding from council
tax on second homes are taken into account.
Total planned spending on affordable housing in the
present year, 2004/5, is £286.5 million, having been
boosted by an additional £20 million for early action in
both urban and rural areas.
In Edinburgh, different streams of funding are already
being combined in a new approach to deliver community
ownership and new supply of up to 10,000 affordable homes
over the next 10 years. Early action funding of £45m,
linked to the Council's decision to promote stock transfer,
has already been allocated for 2004/5 - 2006/7.
This early action programme will produce in excess of
1,000 additional affordable homes across the City. This
year the programme is funding the purchase of around 20
sites for development by Registered Social Landlords and
the acceleration of nine projects to produce around 250
units for social rent.
Recognising the acute pressures existing in rural
areas, additional resources this year of nearly £15m - an
increase of 23 per cent - have been allocated to rural
areas for affordable housing, raising the rural share of
the housing programme this year to 29 per cent - an all
time high.