Ending children living in unsuitable accommodation, supporting
vulnerable groups and boosting investment.
Cabinet Secretary for Housing Màiri McAllan has published the
Housing Emergency Action Plan to tackle the housing crisis.
The plan focuses on three key areas – ending children living in
unsuitable accommodation, supporting the housing needs of
vulnerable groups and supporting growth and investment in the
housing sector.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, the Housing Secretary
set out a number of key commitments, including:
- A new commitment to invest up to £4.9 billion over the next
four years, delivering around 36,000 affordable homes by 2029-30
and providing a home for up to 24,000 children.
- Doubling investment in acquisitions this year to £80 million,
which will help take between 600-800 children out of temporary
accommodation.
- Implement Awaab's Law from March 2026, starting with damp and
mould, subject to parliamentary approval, to ensure landlords
promptly address issues hazardous to tenants.
- A new £1 million national ‘fund to leave' to provide
financial support for up to 1,200 women and their children to
leave an abusive partner.
- Unlocking land for housing in rural areas by working with the
Scottish National Investment Bank, landowners and public bodies
- A new Ministerial direction to planning authorities.
Ms McAllan said:
“Tackling the housing emergency will be a cornerstone in our
efforts to achieve the Scottish Government's key priority of
eradicating child poverty. I am determined this action plan will
deliver positive and lasting change.
“At the heart of my mission is ensuring children are not spending
time in unsuitable accommodation or long periods in temporary
accommodation; that the housing needs of vulnerable communities
are met and that we create the optimum conditions for confidence
and investment in Scotland's housing sector.
"Our efforts so far since declaring a housing emergency have seen
2,700 families with children into a permanent home, up to
December 2024. Our action plan will see tens of thousands more
families have a place they can call home.
“Since I took up the role of Cabinet Secretary I have listened to
calls from the sector for multi-year funding to give
housebuilders more long-term certainty. Today I have committed to
investing up to £4.9 billion in affordable homes over the next
four years. This long-term certainty and increase in funding will
support delivery of around 36,000 affordable homes and provide up
to 24,000 children with a warm, safe home.
“We cannot tackle this emergency alone though and I need everyone
from across the private and public sector to pull together and
deliver this plan to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to a
safe, warm and affordable home.”
Crisis Scotland's Head of Policy and Communications Maeve
McGoldrick said:
“We welcome today's announcement. Homelessness is the most acute
form of poverty, and we see the damage it does through our
frontline services every day.
“Investment in new housing will help prevent more people being
forced from their homes, while the expansion of Housing First
will provide a vital route out of homelessness for people who
have been let down by services for too long.
“We can't allow more people to be trapped in the limbo of the
homelessness system– we need to act now to help build a Scotland
where everyone has a safe, secure place to call home.”
Scottish Women's Aid CEO Dr Marsha Scott said:
“Scottish Women's Aid warmly welcomes announcement of a roll-out
of the original Fund to Leave pilots to the rest of Scotland.
“Every day we and our local Women's Aid services see women and
children struggling to get free of an abuser. The Fund to
Leave offers a critical helping hand when women and children need
it most. ‘Leaving' is difficult and dangerous, and the Fund
to Leave is such an important step to making leaving and staying
free from an abuser a reality across Scotland.”
Background
Tackling Scotland's
Housing Emergency - gov.scot
