£300 million government boost for affordable housing

Hundreds of millions of pounds are to be spent across Scotland on increasing the supply of affordable housing, creating jobs and boosting the economy, it was confirmed today.

All 32 of Scotland’s local authorities have today been allocated a share of £300 million in subsidy for affordable homes as part of the Government’s investment of £391 million to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) in 2015/16.

The remaining £91 million will be managed centrally, with £30 million for the Low Cost Initiative for First Time Buyers,  £10 million for the Home Owners Support Fund, and funding for increased subsidies for homes built to a greener standard. The rest will go to other affordable housing projects, including those that promote innovation.

The funding will support delivery of over 6000 affordable homes, including 4000 social homes.

The funding for councils comes on top of an extra £27 million which was added to their 2014/15 allocations earlier this month , and brings the Scottish Government’s four-year investment in local programmes to over £1 billion, out of a total AHSP budget of £1.35 billion.

Housing Minister Margaret Burgess made the announcement in Edinburgh today.

She said: “This is a substantial funding boost that will support house building across Scotland. We have listened to councils and housing associations and put in place a system of funding for housing which will provide greater certainty and allow councils to make plans for the future.

“Housing is and will remain a priority for this Government and we will continue to invest in new affordable homes. Despite the severe cuts to our budgets by the UK Government, this is a substantial funding boost that will support house building across Scotland.

“This funding keeps us on track to deliver more than 6000 affordable homes per year, of which 4000 will be social homes. But  we must continue to work together to get the most from our resources and ensure that we deliver our vision that everyone should have a safe, warm home which they can afford.”

Alan Ferguson, Director of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland, said:

“When the budget announcement was made in September, CIH Scotland was very happy to join with other bodies in welcoming the outline budget of £391 million for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme in 2015/16.

“This budget represents an increase of around 21 per cent on the average annual spend of £323 million within the current programme. Making these Resource Planning Assumptions now gives councils and their housing association partners the best possible chance of pushing ahead with building much needed homes across Scotland.”

Earlier this year Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced an increase to housing subsidies, which will give councils and housing associations an extra £16,000 per home. Councils now receive around £46,000, towards the cost of building a new home, while RSLs get around £58,000, or more in certain remote areas.