Paul Hilton

ESPC’s chief executive Paul Hilton believes that the Housing Bill, which has just passed Stage 1 at Holyrood, will have little impact on supply and that the “largest home building programme of our lifetime”, across the owned, private rent and social rent sectors, is the only way to end Scotland’s housing emergency in the medium and longer term.

Mr Hilton said: “The Scottish Government has recognised that there is a housing emergency across the country. The Programme for Government signalled that it was beginning to develop solutions, but it’s clear that there is no quick fix here and more needs to be done.

“The problem is significant, and so must be the solution. Across the housing sectors, there is not enough supply to match demand, and we now need the largest home building programme of our lifetime to put us on an even keel.

“To make that vision a reality, we need to invest in supercharging the speed of the planning system, invest in more construction trade apprenticeships and ensure that institutional investors are not discouraged by poor regulation and policy.

“It’s time to turn words into action. Build, build, build is the only way out of our housing emergency.”