Housing budget set for 41% cut
Scotland's housing budget for next year will be cut by more than 40%, Scottish Labour has claimed.
The party said figures obtained from the Scottish Parliament's Information Centre show that the original budget for housing in 2011/12 stood at £363.7 million while the budget for 2012/13 is £214.8 million - a drop of just under 41%.
Finance spokesman Richard Baker said the figures would put even more pressure on the construction sector.
He added: "This cut tells you everything you need to know about the SNP's commitment to home building and the Scottish construction industry. This will be a terrible blow for people waiting for a home and the thousands of people employed in the already under-fire construction sector.
"At a time when demand for housing is increasing, this SNP cut will mean the thousands of people across Scotland who are waiting for affordable homes will be left waiting even longer."
The Scottish Government was also criticised by the Conservatives after it was revealed that 16 houses had been built during phase one of the National Housing Trust initiative, with plans for 598 more. The Tories said 1,025 houses had been originally pledged, contributing to the Scottish Government's commitment to build 6,000 units a year.
Alex Johnstone, the party's housing spokesman, said: "To have just built 16 houses from a target of over a thousand is ludicrous. The SNP are significantly missing their housing targets and it is simply not acceptable."
Housing minister Keith Brown said the Scottish Government's capital budget was being cut by a third by the UK Government.
He added: "Through our emphasis on innovation and on levering in more resources, we are making each Scottish Government pound deliver much more than before. That is the key to supporting the construction industry and hard-pressed families in these challenging times."
Mr Brown said the Government was on track to deliver more than 6,000 affordable homes each year, of which in excess of 4,000 will be social homes. "That is a higher rate of affordable housing, and a comparable rate of social housing, than was achieved by the previous administration during the boom years," he said.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2012, All Rights Reserved.
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Thursday 23 February 2012
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