Publishing the latest figures on new housing supply and the latest statistics on homelessness in Scotland on the same day was never likely to provide a cause for celebration; however what we saw in the statistics reveals a startling escalation of Scotland’s housing emergency.
Homelessness is rising, homelessness due to violent or abusive dispute is rising, evictions due to rent arrears in the social sector are at a worrying level and the new supply of affordable homes is falling.
Twelve local authorities have declared housing emergencies, the pressure on homelessness services is causing some councils to fail in their legal duties and now we have new supply of social housing and housing of all tenures cratering.
The Scottish Government has repeatedly cited the impact of decreased UK government capital spending as the cause of cuts to the housing sector. And we agree there is lot more the UK Government can do to improve the housing system in Scotland, including increasing public spending and borrowing powers. We hope next month the Chancellor will make a positive choice that will empower the Scottish Government to support everyone in need of a home.
However, regardless of Westminster’s decisions, it is the job of the Scottish Government to make tough decisions with the money it does have. In cutting the affordable housing supply budget this year the wrong decision has been made. Evidence shows that not investing in housing supply and tackling homelessness is a false economy that results in spending more money on crisis interventions – today’s figures confirm this.
Read More:
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Scotland's Housing Emergency – find all the articles in the series here
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Homelessness in Scotland at the highest level for more than a decade
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Charity says landlords 'profiteering from human misery' in Scots homelessness crisis
We need a multi-year, multi-billion commitment to building the affordable homes Scotland needs. The Scottish Government legislative programme announced earlier this month described positively the importance of housing, but this rationale must be matched with funding. This means an additional multi-billion-pound commitment from the Scottish Government, above what they have already declared which will then be matched by Scotland’s social landlords up until 2032. This is what is needed to kick start our house building and address the housing emergency.
However, tackling the escalating housing emergency requires resetting not only the declining investment in bricks and mortar but also the declining housing workforce. With social landlords across the country slowing down and stopping new housing developments, more and more talent is leaving the sector. This reduction in core staff, alongside the failure to create a system-wide approach to housing skills, development and recruitment means we are reducing capacity to build the homes we desperately need.
If national priorities change and the sector is asked to kick start affordable house building it could take years to get back to capacity. We need an urgent action plan that recognises the only way to build and manage the homes Scotland needs is by investing in staff, talent and people.
We ended 2023, after a year of local authorities declaring housing emergencies, with a decision from the Scottish Government to cut almost £200 million from the affordable housing supply programme with charities and trade bodies issuing stark warnings about the impact it would have on housing supply and homelessness services. Unfortunately, these predictions have been realised.
The collective message from these latest statistics shows our current approach is not working. We need decisive leadership from the UK and the Scottish Government on housing which must include defining a new path to achieving the 2032 target of 110,000 affordable homes, and a commitment to scaling up and front-loading social housing investment in this parliamentary term. We need action, cross-party support and a whole-system approach to improve housing and provide the long-term funding for building and make this the political priority."
Callum Chomczuk, is the national director of the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland
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