The Scottish Government has announced the creation of a new housing agency to tackle the country's mounting affordable housing crisis. First Minister John Swinney unveiled "More Homes Scotland" on Thursday, describing it as an enabling body designed to accelerate delivery and remove barriers in a system facing a "housing emergency."
The agency, set to be fully operational by the 2028-29 financial year, will focus on large-scale affordable housing proposals, rural and island housing, land acquisition, and infrastructure work for stalled sites. Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan will design the body in partnership with councils and the Scottish National Investment Bank.
Swinney told the Press Association the agency will work with local authorities, housing associations and developers. «This will be an enabling agency which will work with local authority partners and housing associations around the country and individual developers to make sure that we remove obstacles and barriers, so that the significant investment that the Scottish Government is putting in place in affordable housing – over £900 million in the next financial year – is able to be deployed as quickly and as effectively, with as much impact, as possible to create the new homes that people in Scotland need,» he said.
The First Minister stressed the urgency of the situation. Speaking ahead of a visit to a construction site in East Lothian, he said: «Scotland is facing a housing emergency. We recognise the difficulty that many Scots – in particular young Scots - have finding a home they can afford to rent or buy.»
Track record and investment
Since 2007, the Scottish Government has supported 141,000 affordable homes in Scotland, including 101,000 for social rent. Swinney noted this is «proportionately far more than other parts of the UK.» Next year's affordable housing investment will exceed £900 million.
The new agency aims to reduce duplication, increase expertise and efficiencies, and make substantial investment go further. «It is a new body that will offer simplicity, scale and speed – boosting delivery, and maximising savings, as part of our commitment to a decade of public sector modernisation and reform,» Swinney said.
Banking partnership
The Scottish National Investment Bank, which has invested more than £130 million in housing to date, will partner with More Homes Scotland to attract commercial investment. David Ritchie, the bank's chief executive, welcomed the initiative. «We welcome More Homes Scotland being established to bring momentum in finding housing solutions,» he said. «Working with private investors and homebuilders we have developed innovative approaches to unlock finance, getting much-needed homes built across Scotland.»
The First Minister also emphasized the need for planning system improvements: «We've got to be constantly looking at the planning system to make sure the planning system operates with efficiency, that it delivers the ability to construct new homes within Scotland.» The agency will collaborate with councils on planning issues but will not have direct planning powers.
Swinney will provide an update to the Scottish Parliament in March.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).