Meeting of the Parliament 25 June 2014
Thank you, Presiding Officer.
I will start by thanking everyone who contributed to the development of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, including members of all parties and stakeholders from across all sectors of housing. I am grateful to those stakeholders for their considered thoughts on the bill, both while the Government was shaping its policy and during the Parliament’s consideration of the bill, and I thank the members of the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee for their detailed scrutiny of the bill. I was pleased to lodge a number of amendments at stage 2 in response to the committee’s recommendations.
I believe that the broad consensus in favour of the policies in the bill reflects our commitment to working with stakeholders on its provisions. Following its enactment, we will continue that dialogue as we develop draft guidance and proceed with implementation.
The Scottish Government published its strategy for housing, “Homes Fit for the 21st Century”, in February 2011. It included a number of measures that required legislation, and the bill fulfils our commitment. The bill will safeguard the interests of consumers, support improvements to the quality of housing and secure better outcomes for communities. It will introduce greater flexibility for social landlords to manage their houses and, by ending the right to buy, it will provide social landlords with more certainty in planning to invest in those houses as well as in new homes.
The committee and stakeholders had concerns that a three-year notice period was too long for ending the right to buy, and I reduced it to two years. I believe that a two-year period balances the need to stop social housing being sold at a discount as soon as is reasonably possible while ensuring that those who have the right to buy and are able to exercise it will have a reasonable opportunity to do so. A period of two years will give them time to consider their options carefully and to seek reputable financial advice without being rushed into a decision.
Ending the right to buy sits alongside the Government’s target to deliver 30,000 new affordable homes in the five years of this session of Parliament. By 31 March 2014, we had already delivered 19,903 affordable homes, 14,294 of which were for social rent. That represents 71 per cent of our social rent target. We are therefore on track to meet the 30,000 target, and we have now committed £1.7 billion to delivering those vital homes in the five years of the current session of Parliament. Yesterday, the First Minister announced that we had reached a spend of £1 billion, which is a substantial investment in housing. That spend is not only an investment in housing; it sustains 8,000 jobs each year.