Meeting of the Parliament 30 September 2025
As someone who frequently raises the issue of affordable housing in relation to my constituency, I am pleased to speak in support of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, as well as the measures that the cabinet secretary set out recently in the Government’s housing action plan.
Housing pressures remain acute across much of Scotland, and the lack of a private rented sector in many rural communities adds to the pressures there. I think that everyone acknowledges that, despite significant investment in housing over the SNP’s time in government, challenges remain across our cities, towns and rural areas, but the bill will tackle those problems head on. This primary legislation will be useful in achieving those ends.
Under the SNP, Scotland is already the fairest place in the United Kingdom to rent, and the bill will build on that to create a sustainable, well-regulated sector. The bill is an essential piece of legislation that will help to advance tenants’ rights and tackle homelessness in Scotland. As we have heard, measures in the bill will empower tenants, proactively prevent homelessness and provide certainty to encourage continued investment across the housing sector.
The recently published housing action plan outlines nearly £5 billion of investment over the next four years and focuses on three key areas—ending children living in unsuitable accommodation, supporting the housing needs of vulnerable groups, and supporting growth and investment in the housing sector.
Since coming to office in 2007, the SNP in government has built 40 per cent more affordable homes per head of population than England over the same period, and 70 per cent more than Labour-run Wales. That is all against a backdrop of increased costs and challenges as a result of the financial crash, Brexit and the pandemic, as well as the severe limits that are placed on Scotland’s borrowing powers.
In my constituency, work has begun this year on 12 new social housing units in Leverburgh in Harris. That might not sound a big number but, to a small community where no social housing has been built for 50 years, it could represent the difference that means the local care home staying open, a business continuing to be able to operate or local health services being able to function. The local community council and housing association are to be commended for their efforts in bringing that project to fruition.
At the other end of the scale, I can think of the 74-home development at An Allt Dubh outside Stornoway, which was visited recently by the First Minister and is one of a number of larger projects under way to improve access to affordable housing in the islands.
It is important that we continue investing in affordable housing to ensure that it is available to all of Scotland’s communities. That flexibility ensures that the higher cost per unit of building in rural communities is not a barrier to progress. We must also continue helping community organisations and landowners to build affordable homes by using tailored support such as the rural and islands housing fund.
There remains much work to do to ensure that everyone in Scotland has a high-quality, long-term and affordable home, but the measures set out in the bill demonstrate the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling the housing emergency. I commend the cabinet secretary for her on-going efforts in bringing the bill, and the accompanying housing action plan, to fruition.
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