Homes for Scotland leader Jane Wood says the Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan must deliver “meaningful change” when she delivers her Action Plan in parliament today.
Tackling the housing emergency is the first order of business when MSPs return to Holyrood.
The plan will encompass a “commitment to children, to social justice and to creating the optimum conditions for investment in Scotland’s housing sector”, according to briefing notes.
Ms Wood, CEO of Homes for Scotland, said: “I hope this demonstrates a renewed sense of urgency from the Scottish Government on the matter, some 15 months or so on from when a national housing emergency was declared.
She said that since May 2024:
• Q1 all-sector starts have falenl to their lowest level since 1996
• Q1 all-sector completions have fallen to the lowest level since 2013
• Starts and completions have fallen by 11% and 4% respectively between 2023-24 and 2024-25
• Two-thirds of local authorities saw a decline in new housing delivery in 2024-25
• The numbers of homeless and children living in temporary accommodation have reached record highs
• The number of SME home builders, critical to rural housing delivery and unlocking brownfield sites is at a 20-year low
“Not only are these statistics stark, they are key indicators for tracking how effectively policymakers are addressing the housing emergency – particularly in the context of a population that has now grown to 5,546,900,” says Ms Wood.
“Tomorrow, we must see meaningful change and progress towards encouraging and facilitating desperately needed new homes.
“We at Homes for Scotland have been clear in what we believe needs to happen. Given our extensive engagement and the data we have shared as an evidence base, neither Ministers nor officials can be in any doubt that only radical action is sufficient to turn the corner.
“I sincerely hope that they are prepared to take a bold approach and grasp the nettle that is Scotland’s housing emergency.”
Ms McAllan said the Scottish Government has “a strong record in affordable housing, having supported the delivery of 139,000 affordable homes since 2007 – 47% more per head than England, and 73% more than in Wales”.
She added: “Since we declared a housing emergency, we have taken 2,700 children out of temporary accommodation and into a permanent home, up to December 2024.
“Figures out today also show we have brought a record number of empty homes back into use this year.
“However, we must go further and faster. The Plan I set out today will demonstrate how we do that – with direct and immediate action to tackle the housing emergency, strong support for vulnerable communities and significant action to create the optimum conditions for confidence and growth in our housing sector.
“My plan will deliver positive and lasting change and critical to its success will be private and public sectors working together to tackle the housing emergency.”
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