Shelter Scotland Written Evidence on the Draft Budget 2013-14

Shelter Scotland scrutiny of the Scotland's draft budget 2013-14 for the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee focusing on the affordable housing budget.

Summary:

- Shelter Scotland welcomes the additional funding for affordable housing announced in the draft 2013/14 budget. However, there is very little transparency around the housing budget which makes detailed scrutiny of how the budget will be spent across the spending review period very difficult.

- Our understanding is that the affordable housing budget for this 3 year spending review period (2012/13 to 2014/15) totals £770m. This represents a 45% cut in cash terms over the spending review period as compared to the previous spending review period of 2009/10 - 2011/12.

- With more than 157,000 people on council house waiting lists across Scotland, Shelter Scotland has long been campaigning for a commitment to build 10,000 socially rented homes a year building on the analysis carried out by Professor Bramley in 2006 commissioned by the Scottish Government.

- The level of grant subsidy per house suggested by the budget is extremely low if targets are to be met and Shelter Scotland is concerned that the Scottish Government has not fully explored how the target will be achieved with grant rates at this level and what the possible consequences might be on quality of the houses built, rent levels or both.