Welcome for Scottish Government’s Commitment to Housing

Local Strathaven based MSP and Minister for Europe, Linda Fabiani, has praised the Scottish Government’s plans to reform housing provision across Scotland by aiming to build 35,000 new homes each year by 2015, and to give first time buyers and tenants a better deal in the housing sector.

Ms Fabiani was speaking after the government lunched a discussion document ‘Firm Foundations - The Future of Housing in Scotland’, giving details of the Scottish Government’s proposals for increasing housing supply and choice.

Ms Fabiani said:

“We are recognising that there is a need for an adequate supply of affordable housing across all tenures in Scotland.

“We know the central role that home ownership plays in the housing system and we want to offer more help for people to buy their homes.

“However, we also understand the need for a thriving social sector that can offer more choice to those who cannot afford to, or do not wish to buy.

“We know only to well the problems of a housing shortage in East Kilbride, it is all too often that people in the town simply cannot find accommodation which is suitable to their needs, and this is particularly so when considering the lack of available council housing.

There is such a low turnover of council housing in East Kilbride that people can wait years before getting a house or flat.

“The current housing system is simply not meeting our needs as a country or a town. This government aims to change this by focusing on building 35,000 new homes a year by 2015 right across Scotland.

“We also intend to establish a Low-cost Initiative for First Time buyers and expand assistance to them through a mix of Government grants, shared equity schemes, and mortgage related products and services.

“We intend to reverse the 30 year run-down of the local authority landlord role. This reflects our belief that local authorities have a continuing and developing role to play in the provision of social rented housing.

“Local authorities see little point in building new houses for rent if they are lost through the Right to Buy. Many housing associations share this view.

“We therefore propose to end the right to buy for all new social housing built by local authorities and housing associations - with an exception for existing tenants already eligible to buy their houses.

“In short, this government will ensure that new social housing is safeguarded as a public asset for the benefit of current and future generations of tenants.

“We are inviting communities, councils, social landlords, developers, tenants and lenders to comment on the proposals, which address every element of the housing system.”

The consultation runs for 12 weeks and responses are welcome by January 25, 2008.