SFHA share Holyrood Committee’s ‘significant concerns’ over huge cut to affordable housing budget
The Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee has released a report questioning the 26% cut to the housing budget.
SFHA has said the Scottish Government cannot proceed with its plans to slash the affordable housing budget after a report from a Holyrood committee raised significant concerns on its impact on poverty and the economy.
In its report on the Scottish Budget, the Finance and Public Administration Committee said that a number of witnesses highlighted concerns regarding the impacts of the cut.
Among those were organisations were the Joseph Rowntree Foundation who had said the decision was ‘baffling’ amid the wider housing crisis, whilst SFHA had previously criticised the cut as a hammer-blow for tackling poverty and homelessness. SFHA had written to the Committee prior to evidence being taken.
The report concluded: “The Committee draws the Scottish Government’s attention to the significant concerns expressed by witnesses regarding its decision to cut the affordable housing budget in view of reductions to available capital. We seek further information on the impact of this decision on its target to build 110,000 homes by 2032.
“We also ask the Scottish Government to demonstrate how this decision aligns with its own spending prioritisation criteria and whether it has fully assessed the potential impact on tackling poverty and growth.”
Responding to the report, Director of External Affairs at SFHA, Carolyn Lochhead, said: “The Committee rightly raises real concerns about the brutal cut to the affordable housing budget, because of its impact not only on economic growth but also on tackling poverty.
“In the run up to the Budget, progress on delivering affordable housing was already stalling and the flagship target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 was off-track. The answer to that should have been to redouble our efforts, not cut the budget.
“More social homes quite simply mean fewer children growing up in poverty. Given the committee’s recommendations, it’s hard to see how the Scottish Government can go ahead with this hammer-blow cut and still meet its own commitments on housing, growth or poverty.”