Scottish councils getting less money for housing despite emergency

Nearly all councils in Scotland are getting less money for social housing this year than they did four years ago, despite the Government declaring a national housing emergency in 2024.

Scottish Government data shows that councils received £64.2m less cash for the affordable housing supply programme than they did in 2021/22.

Four years ago, Scotland’s 32 local authorities divvied up the £724.3m fund from Holyrood to build new affordable houses.

This year, councils are splitting £660.1m between themselves.

With inflation, the real terms cash cut for the programme is likely to be even higher.

Edinburgh is the only local authority that will see its budget rise – from £52.4 million to £59.4 million – amid an acute housing crisis in the region.

Money for the other 31 councils will fall.

Highland Council saw the steepest drop in funding. In four years, they have lost nearly £7m worth of funding from the affordable housing supply programme.

The reductions come a year after the Scottish Government declared a national housing emergency, and despite ministers reversing £200m in budget cuts to the housebuilding scheme.

Shelter Scotland said that while it welcomed the improved funding settlement, councils are still seeing less from the Scottish Government than they did four years ago.

Alison Watson, director of the Shelter Scotland charity, said it is time for Scotland’s politicians “to be frank with the nation”.

“There is no plan to end the housing emergency,” she said.

“It has been a year since a national housing emergency was declared by the Scottish Parliament, but almost all local authorities continue to have less money to spend on new social homes than they did in 2021/22.”

Ms Watson added that the current Housing Bill in Parliament “will not reduce rent, will not make it easier to build social housing and will not inject more cash into services to prevent homelessness”.

She said it “cannot be the answer” to Scotland’s housing problems.

She said Scotland needed a “programme for housing, from the Government, not a programme for homelessness”.

However, Scotland’s housing minister, Paul McLennan and social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville have both defended the SNP Government’s position on housing.

McLennan claimed the Government has “increased the affordable housing supply programme budget by £200m” this year to support local authorities on homelessness and temporary accommodation pressures.

“Local authorities will also be provided with £15 billion this financial year for a range of services, including in homelessness services,” he said.

“There is also an additional £4 million invested in the Ending Homelessness Together budget for 2025-26 to help local authorities, frontline services, and relevant partners prepare for the new prevention measures in the Housing Bill and to help them to respond to the housing emergency by preventing homelessness before it occurs.”

During a statement to Parliament on Thursday, Somerville also emphasised that the Scottish Government was investing £768m to build 8,000 social and mid-market rent homes.

She told MSPs: “We are making progress, but we know that there is much more yet to do as we move into our next phase of our response.

“That is why the latest programme for government reiterated our commitment to the delivery of the 110,000 affordable homes target by 2032.”