Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson has welcomed the announcement that the Scottish Government is investing a further £1.75billion in affordable housing over the next three years, including £33million in Falkirk district.
Councils and housebuilders across Scotland’s 32 local authorities will be able to plan ahead until 2021 thanks to the guaranteed grant subsidies. Falkirk Council will receive £10million in 2018-19, rising to £11.3million in 2019-20 and £12.1million in 2020-21.
Mr Matheson said: “The announcement that Falkirk district will receive more than £33million over the next three years provides the certainty the housing sector needs. It also ensures that we keep up the momentum to reach the Scottish Government’s target of building 50,000 new affordable homes by 2021, a large proportion of which will be for social rent.
“Increasing the supply of affordable homes is a key SNP commitment and plays a vital role in helping to tackle poverty and inequality in our communities.
“Committing funding until the end of this parliament will help ensure that Scotland leads the way in building homes that are high-quality, energy-efficient and affordable. It will also boost our housebuilding sector and the estimated 14,000 jobs the affordable housing supply programme supports each year.
“The SNP believes that everyone in Scotland deserves a warm, affordable home and we are making great progress towards that aim.”
Between 2011 and 2016, the SNP Government exceeded its target of building 30,000 affordable homes. Over the last year, 10,276 affordable homes were approved and 7336 completed in Scotland.
