Shelter Scotland director, Graeme Brown will call on Scottish politicians to back the biggest cash boost for housing in Scotland in 30 years when he speaks at the Labour Party conference on Saturday. [1]

Sharing a platform with Labour Leader Iain Gray at the Shelter Scotland Fringe Meeting, the director of Scotland’s leading housing and homelessness charity will seek cross-party support for a fiscal stimulus package that could create 6,000 extra affordable rented homes and sustain over 10,000 jobs.

Shelter recently submitted the proposals to the Chancellor for more money for housing through the April Budget – and this could result in a massive cash boost of around £600 million over two years for housing in Scotland [2].

In its new paper 'Building Homes and Protecting Jobs' []) Shelter Scotland argues that this massive injection of additional funding would build extra homes and sustain jobs through the recession. It would also help towards meeting the 2012 homelessness target [4].

Speaking at the Shelter Fringe Meeting, Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, will say 'extraordinary times' require extraordinary measures. He will say: 'We need 10,000 affordable rented homes a year for at least three years to catch up with the decades of neglect and to meet the looming challenge of the 2012 homelessness target.

'We know that current provision of affordable homes runs at about half that level and that in the past the case for increased level of output has mostly fallen on deaf ears. But these are extraordinary times.

'Billions and trillions are now commonly banded around in public policy debate. There is a long queue of industries looking to Government for a financial helping hand. But I believe the housing sector has a unique case to put to Government and we have between now and the UK Treasury budget statement on April 22 to convince the UK Government of the need for action.

'The programme Shelter is proposing would provide the biggest leg-up to housing investment for almost 30 years. It would sustain ten thousand jobs: jobs that otherwise will vanish, stoking up the next round of inflation, if, and when, the private market recovers.'

Nicola Sturgeon recently wrote to the Chancellor asking for a stimulus package for housing through this year's Budget.

Notes to editors

1. Shelter Scotland Fringe Meeting: 8.45am, Committee Room 3, Caird Hall, Dundee.
2. Read about the call to the UK Treasury.
3. Shelter Scotland has produced a paper 'Building Homes and Protecting Jobs' in support of the national UK Treasury call.
   
4. By 2012 all unintentionally homeless people should have access to a permanent home, under Scottish legislation. Currently, only people designated to be in ‘priority need’ – generally families with children – have the right to permanent homes. All others have access to only temporary accommodation and support. By 2012, there will be no distinction and everyone will have the right to a home.