Scottish council house new-builds outstripping England 5 to 1

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Development

Scotland is building five times as many council houses than the UK Government, official statistics reveal.

Scottish council house new-builds amounted t0 19.4 homes per 100,000 people, compared with 3.5 homes per 100,000 in England.

The Scottish Government believes that its £730 million investment in the housing budget over the period 2012-15 may generate £3 billion in economic activity and generate 8,000 jobs each year.

The recent UK Housing Review showed that housing expenditure, as a share of total government spend, has been consistently higher in Scotland than for the UK as a whole, with the latest figure being 3.5% in Scotland and 2.5% for the UK.

Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, said: “Unlike Westminster, as these figures prove, we are not turning our back on social rented housing.

“We have made it a priority to support our construction sector by investing heavily in housing, helping to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

“At least two thirds of the 30,000 affordable homes delivered during this Parliament will be for social rent. In the last year we have delivered over 6, 800 affordable homes, far in excess of our target of 6,000 each year.

“In the last 3 years, we have subsidised completion of 1658 new council homes. This has generated an estimated £340m of economic activity, and on average supported an estimated 830 jobs each year, directly and indirectly, across the Scottish economy.”