Responding to the speech given by the Chancellor yesterday, Homes for Scotland Chief Executive Jane Wood said:
“It is very encouraging to see the new UK government placing a major emphasis on housing delivery and the planning system, with the new Chancellor making announcements on these within 72 hours. But with both of these matters devolved, will the Scottish Government listen to those who are saying unequivocally “it’s not working for us” and recalibrate to change the alarming downwards trajectory on housing numbers? Will it bravely acknowledge that the root causes lie not only in UK capital budgets but in an underinvestment in our planning regime and a regulatory environment that fails to recognise the unintended consequences of policies created with poor understanding of the costs, the impacts on consumers and, critically, on those organisations, both private and public who build the much-needed homes of all tenures that we require?
“With another 18 months before the Scottish 2026 elections, there IS time for impactful change. Together with other stakeholders, we have set out a clear action plan of what needs to happen. With collaboration, strong leadership, evidenced and informed policy making and measured consultations and collaboration, we can reverse the year-on-year decline in housing numbers (latest figures show significant falls in both starts and completions at 15% and 17% respectively) and address the shortfall of more than 100,000 homes that has accumulated since 2008.”
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