Invest in affordable housing to meet First Minister’s priorities

The Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee is carrying out pre-budget scrutiny to inform spending plans for Scotland’s Budget 2025-26. The Committee has sought views on whether the four priorities set out by the First Minister in May are the right priorities for the upcoming budget. The four priorities are:

• Eradicating child poverty
• Growing the economy
• Tackling the climate emergency
• Delivering better public services

Responding to the call for evidence, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland has called for the recent cuts to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) budget to be urgently reversed.

Ashley Campbell, policy and practice manager at CIH Scotland said:

“Investing in the supply of affordable homes and the services that support people to maintain tenancies is essential to meeting the four priorities set out by the First Minister. We know that housing costs contribute significantly to poverty rates and that poor quality housing affects people’s physical and mental health, costing more for the NHS.

“The recent £200 million cut to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme is already having an impact with social landlords having to stall development and rethink longer-term business plans.

“Record numbers of households being assessed as homeless and becoming trapped in temporary accommodation has led to the Scottish Government to declare a housing emergency and we now need these words to be backed by actions.

“If spending cuts are not addressed at the next budget, the housing emergency will worsen. This will result in increased spending on temporary accommodation, increased poverty and inequality, worsening health and wellbeing and increased costs for the NHS. Investing in housing leads to better outcomes for individuals and provides value for money for our public services”