Sarwar pledges to kickstart ‘housebuilding revolution’ in Scotland

Anas Sarwar has pledged to kickstart a “housebuilding revolution” in Scotland as he accused the SNP of allowing the rate of new homes to “plummet”.

According to analysis by Scottish Labour, 5,000 fewer houses are being built each year under the SNP compared to the previous Scottish government.

The party said that if housebuilding under the SNP kept pace with the last Labour-led administration at Holyrood, 90,000 more houses would have been built in the last 18 years.

Scottish Labour said a housing shortage was “at the root” of Scotland’s housing emergency.

The party attacked the SNP’s record, pointing to figures showing more than 10,000 children are currently in temporary accommodation.

Mr Sarwar said: “The SNP’s housing emergency is causing misery for countless Scots – kids are stuck in temporary accommodation, families are languishing on housing lists, and home ownership looks increasingly out of reach for a generation of young people.

“At the root of this crisis is a shortage of housing and created by this failing SNP Government.

“The SNP fanned the flames of the housing emergency by letting housebuilding plummet – but this election is a chance to demand better.

“A Scottish Labour government led by me will end the SNP’s housing emergency at last and kickstart a housebuilding revolution.

“I will get Scotland building by overhauling our dated planning system and I will ease the pressure on communities by delivering fair funding for councils.”

Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan said: “We have a strong track record in housing, having delivered more than 141,000 affordable homes since 2007 – 45% more than England and 69% more than Wales, per head of population.

“And in the past four years, 8,572 new council homes were built, compared to just six in the four years up to 2007.

“Since 2007, the Scottish government has delivered an average of 40% more affordable homes than the period between 1999 and 2007.

“Our record £4.9 billion investment planned over the next four years will help deliver around 36,000 affordable homes, which is estimated to provide a warm, safe home to live for up to 24,000 children.

“The challenges in housebuilding are not unique to Scotland and figures from the ONS this week show the number of homes completed in England have dropped to the lowest levels since the pandemic.

“The legal duty for preventing and responding to homelessness sits with local authorities, including the commissioning of temporary accommodation.

“We have targeted £80 million towards local authorities experiencing the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures, enabling them to buy family homes on the open market and help reduce the use of unsuitable temporary accommodation.”