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Scottish government allocates £3.2bn in affordable housing grant to local authorities
Councils in Scotland have been allocated a share of more than £3.2bn in grant funding to spend on affordable housing supply over the next five years.
The total amount of funding being allocated to Scottish councils (£3.22bn) is £541m more than was allocated over the previous five years, an increase of 20%.
The funding is allocated to councils via the government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme and can be used by councils to plan and deliver affordable homes, including in partnership with registered social landlords.
Glasgow City Council has received the highest allocation (£537.9m), followed by Highland Council (£240.1m), City of Edinburgh Council (£233.8m) and Fife Council (£179.3m).
The funding comes as the newly re-elected Scottish government aims to fulfil its promise of delivering 100,000 affordable homes over the next decade.
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The pledge was made as part of the government’s recently published Housing to 2040 strategy, setting out its housing ambitions for the next 20 years.
Housing secretary Shona Robison said: “We have already delivered more than 102,000 affordable homes since 2007.
“Building on this, our aim is to deliver 100,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 70% of these for social rent.
“Meeting this ambition will require continued collaboration across the private and public sectors. I’m pleased to be increasing significantly the available affordable housing grant funding for council areas to help with this important work.
“The five-year allocations will provide the certainty and assurance the housing sector needs to deliver the ambitious affordable homes target set out in our Housing to 2040 strategy.”
Gail Macgregor, resources spokesperson for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, said: “We welcome the Scottish government’s commitment to contributing to the cost of affordable housing in Scotland.
“The priority for councils and housing associations is ensuring rent affordability and warm, safe, comfortable homes for current and future tenants.
“As we look to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, councils are working side by side with their communities. We maintain a focus on our shared ambitions around tackling child poverty and climate change, alongside building more houses.”
