Meeting of the Parliament 25 March 2026 [Draft]
: One of the main drivers—if not the main driver—of homelessness is poverty. More homes Scotland will help to drive forward the Government’s core priorities of eradicating child poverty and growing our economy. To do that, we must focus on building more social homes and maximising investment in Scotland’s housing sector generally.
We have a very strong record in Scotland in that regard. Since 2007, the Government has delivered 141,000 affordable homes, 101,000 of which have the most affordable social rent. That leaves us with 69 per cent more affordable homes, per head of population, than there are in Wales and 45 per cent more affordable homes, per head of population, than there are in England. However, we are crystal clear that the number of such homes needs to grow, and the agency will help us in that regard.