More details emerge on Budget’s £756m affordable housing investment

In 2018/19, more than £756 million will be made available through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme – 28% higher than the previous year. Delivering his Budget last week Mr Mackay said the funding increase will help deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes over this Parliament.

A total of 70% of the affordable housing supply programme funding – £522.6m – is capital funding, chiefly for new social housing. This is a £147m increase on the equivalent figure for 2017/18.

The programme is expected to support up to 14,000 jobs in the construction and related sectors over the next four years.

According to the government, spend per head in Scotland on the Affordable Housing Supply Programme is three times higher England – £555 compared to approximately £165.

Since 2007, the supply of affordable housing per head of population in Scotland has been a third higher than in England (129 homes per 100,000 population in Scotland, compared to 97 in England). Social rented housing has been delivered at more than double the English rate (89 homes per 100,000 population, compared to 42).

The Draft Budget commitment follows statistics showing some 71,000 affordable homes have been delivered since 2007. This includes almost 49,000 homes for social rent, 5,000 homes for affordable rent, and more than 17,000 homes for affordable home ownership.

The Draft Budget also introduced new relief on Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT) for first time buyers up to £175,000. All first-time buyers will benefit, with 80% taken out of LBTT altogether.

Communities secretary Angela Constance said: “Ensuring everyone has access to a safe, warm and affordable place to call home lies at the heart of our ambition for a fairer Scotland – this budget will deliver on that.

“Core to that is our commitment to deliver at least 50,000 affordable homes over this Parliament. While that is challenging, we have shown before that we can deliver.

“Overall, this funding delivers on our More Homes Scotland approach – increasing supply across all tenures, supporting aspiring home owners, and boosting the economy. We have reintroduced council house building, supported first-time buyers, invested in shared equity, and introduced innovations like the Rental Income Guarantee Scheme and bringing empty homes into ownership.

“This builds on our commitment to work with councils and housing associations to ensure they have the financial certainty to increase developments. We will continue working closely with them and others as we take action to deliver good quality, secure, affordable housing.