Four Scottish charities have written to minister for housing and welfare Margaret Burgess MSP with a joint call to set an ambitious target for new affordable homes across Scotland.

Scottish Churches Housing Action, Shelter Scotland, Homeless Action Scotland and Rural Housing Scotland all believe that the next Parliament, following the 2016 Holyrood elections, should see an upswing in provision of homes for those in need.

The Scottish Government’s current target for affordable housing in Scotland is 30,000 new homes – or 6,000 per year - over the five years of the current Parliament, 2011-16. The four organisations believe that targets set by the next Scottish Government should be more ambitious.

Scottish Churches Housing Action chief executive Alastair Cameron, said: “During the Westminster election campaign, the first minister called on the UK government to set a target of 100,000 new affordable homes a year across Britain. This would imply about 10,000 new affordable homes in Scotland each year, creating employment opportunities as well as meeting housing need. Housing investment is a devolved matter, so Scotland’s contribution to meeting this target needs decisive action at Holyrood.

“We agree that austerity government is not the way forward; we look forward to seeing the Scottish Government build our way to a better future for young people seeking a home, for people who need to move to take up work, and for families and individuals stuck in homelessness.”

Read the joint letter to Margaret Burgess.

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