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Meeting of the Parliament 17 November 2011

17 Nov 2011 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Housing

Pentland, John Lab Motherwell and Wishaw Watch on SPTV

Although we are all concerned about the dire state of house building, I think that we begin to part company over what should be done about the situation. I believe that there is significant and unaddressed demand for social rented housing and shared equity schemes, but both are dependent on Government support that is rapidly shrinking. The housing and regeneration budget will be reduced from nearly £400 million to little over £250 million in 2014, which is a cut of more than 35 per cent. Next year, the affordable housing supply budget is to suffer an even more drastic cut of 53 per cent, falling from just over £268 million to as little as £125 million.

Of course, some of the affordable housing budget is included in the local government settlement but it, too, will be under severe pressure. Manifesto promises and the requirement in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 are unlikely to be met. The pledge to build 6,000 social rented homes each year has become a pledge to build 6,000 affordable homes, just over 4,000 of which will be social rented homes. That is nowhere near enough to meet demand; Scotland needs 10,000 new affordable homes a year.

The 60 per cent decrease in the money for building affordable homes will be achieved by limiting the subsidy to a maximum of £40,000 per unit, but it remains to be seen whether that subsidy will be raised for areas of greater need. Unless it is relaxed, the limit will make it difficult to fund social rented accommodation in areas of high deprivation; if it is relaxed, there will not be enough money to fund the building of as many houses.

The 1,000 intermediate rented homes, available through the national housing trust, are by definition affordable only for some. They are out of reach of the poorest tenants. Another 1,000 are to come from subsidised home ownership. I support the continuation of the open market and the new supply schemes, but I note that the Scottish Government is still not providing funding for the open market scheme. That scheme was assessed as being the best to meet particular needs—for example, the needs of people with a disability—and also as being a particularly cost-effective option. However, it is now available only for a very limited number of homes that are already in the process of being built.

I am also concerned about the future of social housing under the new regime of the housing regulator, which has brought forward proposals that will undermine the role of local residents on the boards and committees of registered social landlords. I am sure that there is no great demand for those proposals from housing associations and residents. In accordance with the tenant consultation and satisfaction principles of the Scottish housing charter, their views should be paramount. Any attempt to impose those new rules will be an attack on local democracy. It will not be acceptable for the Scottish Government to wash its hands and say, “It wisnae me. It was that quango what done it.”

The Government must take responsibility, and not give it away to organisations that it then blames when things go wrong. Instead of trying to fix things that are not broken, the Government should address real problems—such as factors who are withdrawing their services because absentee landlords make their task so difficult. Instead of attacking social landlords, how about the Government giving local government more powers to deal with antisocial landlords?

09:47

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Meeting of the Parliament 17 November 2011

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