Hansard

We all have the right to adequate, warm and secure housing. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says:

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family”.

Housing is central to that. A person’s home is one of the most important factors that affects their life, from the home of a child’s early years to the home that has been adapted for an older person, whether people seek to rent or aspire to move up the property ladder. The Government is successfully moving in the right direction in making housing a top priority for the next five years, and we should make no apology for our ambitions.

As we have heard, Scotland needs more housing. We need modern, affordable, and—this is crucial—high-quality 21st century homes. We can all agree on that. Population projections suggest that the number of households in Scotland will increase by more than 200,000 during the next 10 years. If we are to accommodate housing growth in the next decade we will have to invest significantly in the private and social sectors, as well as in emerging areas such as intermediate rent.

The Scottish Government’s response to the challenge has been encouraging. There is a solid commitment to build 6,000 affordable homes during each year of this parliamentary session. Indeed, the Government has not only identified the urgency of Scotland’s housing needs but taken steps to address the issue. Record investment is supporting the delivery of almost 28,000 affordable new-builds and there have been almost 25,000 completions during the past three years.

Most crucial, a new generation of council homes is being built, after decades of Labour neglect. The previous Labour-Liberal Administration did not build a single council house in Edinburgh or indeed in mainland Scotland. The myth that Labour is the party of social housing has been fully exposed.

The abolition of the right to buy for new tenants was one of the Government’s most responsible decisions and will alleviate pressure on councils and benefit people who have been stuck on waiting lists for years. In my constituency, just after I was elected as a councillor in 2007, a council house was available for which there were more than 1,000 applicants, which is a damning indictment of the former Labour Administration in Edinburgh.

During the past two years there has been a 50 per cent reduction in sales of local authority homes in Scotland under the right-to-buy scheme. Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said that the Scottish Government

“was right to reform the system to secure the supply of social housing.”

I very much welcome the establishment of a Scottish social housing charter, which will look after the interests of tenants, homeless people and others who use the services that social landlords provide, and which focuses on issues such as quality of housing and environment.

The scars of the economic downturn could not be any more visible in the private sector, stalling its ability to invest in new development. The restricted availability of mortgage finance has exacerbated that, which is why the SNP’s commitment to housing could not have come at a better time, as it boosts the construction sector and safeguards jobs across the country.

The challenge for the next few years will be how to increase the housing supply right across the spectrum in the current economic climate. It is clear that our housing system will continue to face challenges and, as a result of Westminster cuts to the Scottish budget, we must find new ways of investing and building homes, using Government funding to lever in maximum investment from other sources.

The Scottish Government’s national housing trust and the innovation and investment fund are part of the answer, as we have heard. Indeed, just a few weeks ago through the latter scheme, the City of Edinburgh Council was allocated funding to deliver more than 600 new affordable homes. Edinburgh will see substantial progress in housing over the coming years. It is no secret to anyone that the capital has been struggling with social housing supply for many years. The 21st century homes project will facilitate the regeneration of areas in my constituency, such as Muirhouse and Pennywell, where around 470 quality homes will be built. The long-awaited regeneration in the Muirhouse community is an exciting prospect that is expected to attract new business and investment to the area.

The scale of regeneration in the capital is probably best illustrated by the demolition of the infamous Sighthill tower blocks, some of Edinburgh’s biggest eyesores, which were turned to dust less than two weeks ago.

I want to conclude by saying a few words on fuel poverty. Price hikes by energy companies are scandalous and many people will be suffering the consequences this winter. Through numerous schemes, the Scottish Government is working to lift people out of fuel poverty, but those irresponsible price hikes undermine that progress.

We will not get people out of fuel poverty unless the UK Government takes decisive action on energy companies and their out-of-control prices. However, to end on a positive note, the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment’s recent announcement to extend the energy assistance package to carers is a clear commitment to addressing the needs of vulnerable citizens in our society.

Housing is crucial for the economic, health and social wellbeing of our people. There are undoubtedly challenges ahead, but I am proud of this Government’s record on housing and confident of the actions that we are taking.

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