New figures released confirm that the Scottish Government is on track to meet its target of delivering 30,000 new affordable homes by 2016 – with more than 7,000 delivered in the last year.
Figures show that the number of new homes delivered through the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme rose by 17 per cent in the year to March 2014 – bringing the total delivered since 2011 to 19,900.
The figures also show that in the last quarter of 2013 more than 3,000 new builds were completed in the private sector – the first time the quarterly figure has been above 3,000 in four years.
Commenting, Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson said:
“It is clear from these statistics that the Scottish Government’s commitment to increasing the supply of affordable housing in Falkirk and Scotland as a whole is delivering results – and they are well on schedule to meet the target of 30,000 new affordable homes by 2016.
“Ensuring a sustainable supply of affordable housing is a major issue across the country – and the Scottish Government’s £1.35bn investment in the sector over the four years to March 2016 will ensure that we continue to see positive results. I see throughout my constituency the amount of new social housing being built which should assist in the pressures of those who are on the waiting list, although there is still a lot more to be built.
“However, while these figures are very welcome and strong progress is being made we know that more can be done. Scotland’s budget has been drastically cut by Westminster in recent years – with the full economic powers of independence, we can invest Scotland’s wealth to further support the supply of new affordable homes.”
