Hansard

The Convener Green

The next item is an evidence-taking session on the 2026-27 budget with Màiri McAllan, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing. We are also joined by the following ...

The Cabinet Secretary for Housing (Màiri McAllan) SNP

Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to give evidence and for your flexibility in making a slight change to the agenda that allows me to attend Cabinet to...

The Convener Green

Thank you for that very positive opening statement. Thank you for your efforts on the housing portfolio in the budget. We have a number of questions about th...

Màiri McAllan SNP

Everything centres on our target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. When I talk about that target, I sometimes like to remind those I am speakin...

The Convener Green

Great—thank you.You mentioned the construction sector. Construction inflation and viability are clearly central to whether homes get built. I would be intere...

Màiri McAllan SNP

On that last point, the public grant rises. I am fairly sure that that table has been published as part of the spending review. If it has not been, I am sure...

The Convener Green

That is very helpful—although I guess that we are about to arrive at a moment of uncertainty, with the upcoming election. We will see where we get to.I will ...

Màiri McAllan SNP

The Scottish National Investment Bank is an absolutely critical partner. It is independent from Government and it is a critical partner in housing investment...

The Convener Green

That sounds very positive. However, something that causes alarm bells to ring, and which I have started to think about it quite a bit over this session, is t...

Màiri McAllan SNP

That is a really important point. There are two strands to it, as far as I see.The first is a more general point, which is that a lot of the homes that are b...

The Convener Green

It is good to hear that you are aware of the issues of SMEs in construction. During a session that we had on rural issues, some years ago now, we learned tha...

Evelyn Tweed SNP

Good morning, cabinet secretary and officials. Thank you for your answers so far.Cabinet secretary, you touched on these in one of your previous answers, but...

Màiri McAllan SNP

That is a very important question on an issue that occupies our minds a great deal.In the early years of this parliamentary session, delivery was hampered by...

Kirsty Henderson (Scottish Government)

We were in that unfortunate position in the first few years of this parliamentary session, which also coincided with the peak of the profile of our budget, a...

Màiri McAllan SNP

The only thing that I would add to that is that, at the beginning of this parliamentary term, we committed to £3.5 billion of investment, and that commitment...

Evelyn Tweed SNP

It is really good to hear that we have moved on from some of the problems that we were experiencing before and that we will achieve that budget.We know that ...

Màiri McAllan SNP

In the situation that we are in, in relation to temporary accommodation, it is about the degree of harm. As far as I am concerned, at the end of the spectrum...

Evelyn Tweed SNP

When I worked in housing, I found that a lot of the acquisitions were in bad condition. Often, it took a long time to do the works that were required to brin...

Màiri McAllan SNP

I will go to Kirsty Henderson for the details of the flexibility. In recent years, the funding has been directed, for the most part, to those areas with the ...

Kirsty Henderson

We work closely with local authorities and RSLs, and there is a discussion about what types of acquisitions will be targeted in an area. The local authority ...

Màiri McAllan SNP

I will close that part of our discussion by saying that the work on turning round the number of voids—which has not been exhaustive but has significantly eat...

Evelyn Tweed SNP

That is great. Thank you, cabinet secretary.

The Convener Green

It is helpful to hear that.I am going to bring in Alexander Stewart, who has a question on the same theme.

Alexander Stewart Con

Good morning, cabinet secretary. The budget provides £163 million of financial transaction funding. What is the intention for that funding and how will it be...

Màiri McAllan SNP

I will take the last part of that question first and will then say a little bit about FTs. I might also bring in Sean Neill to give a little more colour to t...

Sean Neill (Scottish Government)

We have an established charitable bond scheme that, through its investments and through financial transactions, actually generates grants back into the affor...

Alexander Stewart Con

How do you envisage the rural and islands housing fund developing? How do you see the budget supporting community-led housing developments in the next year?

Màiri McAllan SNP

We, in the Scottish Government, are very clear in our minds that there is a real need for rural housing, and we want to make sure that the system can respond...

Alexander Stewart Con

It was about how things are going to develop in the next year, which you have already given us an indication of.

The Convener Green

Mark Griffin had an interest in financial transactions, but that discussion appears to have unearthed what he was interested in.I have a question about rural...