Latest housing statistics show the Scottish Government is choosing not to fix the housing emergency

The latest housing statistics for Scotland have been published today, showing an overall decrease in approvals and starts for social homes during the last 12 months.

There are some signs of the sector opening again after the covid lockdown as completions rose by 48% from the previous quarter’s slowdown, but this is still short of the scale required to reduce affordable housing need across Scotland. When looking longer term to the end of September 2022, approvals decreased by 13% (813 homes) and starts decreased by 11% (804 homes), when compared to the same 12 months for the previous year. The slowing down of approvals and starts for social homes will lead to a decrease in completions down the line.

Housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland has condemned the figures and is calling for the Scottish Government to reverse budget cuts to social house building to address the massive shortage of homes in Scotland.

Our director Alison Watson, said:

“Scotland’s supply of social housing is going in the wrong direction. Today’s figures show that the Scottish Government is choosing to accept more homelessness, more child poverty, and more misery for thousands of people across Scotland.

“Nicola Sturgeon and her Government have seen the evidence that social housing ends homelessness, they know that it reduces child poverty, and they know that only social housing provides the security 35,000 homeless households across Scotland so desperately need.

“By choosing to cut the social housing budget the Scottish Government are choosing to accept the consequences of their decision. At Shelter Scotland we cannot accept a choice that makes an already broken and biased housing system worse.

“These cuts can be and must be reversed. Delivering more social homes remains the only way to meaningfully tackle Scotland’s housing emergency. We can’t afford not to.”