Chamber and committees

It is across all local authorities.

For me, coming from a local authority background, one of the key things has been to get round as many local authorities as I possibly can to see what their specific issues are. I still have one or two to visit, but I have visited Argyll and Bute.

You are right; there are 32 local authorities with 32 different approaches, and there are lessons for other local authorities to learn from the five councils on which we are focusing. I mentioned the acquisition fund. When we spoke to COSLA, we were keen to look at what we do in that regard with the five local authorities and there was an 80:20 split—80 per cent of the fund went to the five local authorities and the other 20 per cent went to other local authorities. We are still focusing on voids in other local authorities as well. The work that I mentioned on empty homes is incredibly important and we have a breakdown of the situation in that respect.

There is a large number of empty homes in Highland and in Aberdeen, so we need to look at what we do with each of those local authorities. There are lessons to be learned from the work that Glasgow has done. We talked about the £2 million for empty homes, so we need to focus on that as well. It is about ensuring that the lessons that we learn from the five local authorities in that regard are taken into the other local authorities.

The local teams engage with local authorities regularly on how we increase the affordable housing supply programme. The increase in the budget relates to the opportunities in that respect and getting the resource planning assumptions back to where they were previously, so we need to think about what that looks like.

I mentioned the additional funding based on the planning assumptions. There are always planning assumptions regarding how much a local authority receives to put towards an affordable housing supply programme. Discussions are already going on with local authorities on that, looking at how we maximise the opportunities from the project in Argyll and Bute and get projects in other local authorities up and running as quickly as possible. That is being helped by the work on stalled sites, which is looking at how we get those sites up and running.

One of the key aspects involves our discussions with local teams. You mentioned mid-market rent, convener. One of the key things that we mentioned in the programme for government was a £100 million commitment to mid-market rent. That commitment is forecast to bring in additional funding of £400 million from other investors for delivery. The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations was very focused on that commitment, because they deliver some of their housing through mid-market rent. There is a question of where we look for mid-market rent opportunities in other local authorities. We can do more in some local authorities than others, and that is important. Our discussions with local authorities and local teams are about what those mid-market rent opportunities are and how we can develop and grow that sector. The charitable bonds that I mentioned earlier are also really important for getting investment into that sector.

Coming back to Argyll and Bute, a key thing that I mentioned in my opening statement was the role of housing work in terms of how we deliver and I mentioned the partnership with the Nationwide Foundation. As you will know, an important issue that rural authorities mention to us is the ability of development companies to deliver on housing. Often, our discussions are about how we increase their capacity to do that, because that is really important. That funding makes a real difference in helping companies to develop housing. In rural communities, 10 to 15 houses can make a real difference.

There is a wide range of opportunities, but what can we learn from the five local authorities about how we look at mid-market rent and the funding for that? How do we look at the rural affordable homes for key workers fund? We have a nuanced approach to each local authority. So, yes, we are focused on those five local authorities, but local teams work on a daily basis with other local authorities to maximise opportunities and there are on-going discussions about the budget for doing so.

Yes, I will come to where things have worked and the local authorities that have reduced their empty homes and have exemplar schemes in a second.

One approach to lessons learned is based on data. Glasgow has reduced its empty homes by about 50 per cent in the past three or four years. It did that through a focus on compulsory purchase. In its recruitment, it very much focused on people with the experience to drive that. That is something that we can discuss with Edinburgh, which has approximately 15 per cent of the Scottish total of empty homes. We talked about the work that Edinburgh carried out on voids. There are around 7,000 empty homes. What do we do to try to reduce that number? If Edinburgh reduced its empty homes by 50 per cent in the same period of time as Glasgow did, we would be talking about 3,500 properties that would be available for the council to use. That is a significant number in tackling those issues.

Perth and Kinross Council was invited to the rural and islands housing conference that we held in October, along with the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership. Perth and Kinross Council talked about its work in the private sector and its leasing scheme. The Scottish Association of Landlords also attended the housing to 2040 strategic board meeting. Work is active and on-going with the Scottish Association of Landlords and the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership to see what schemes can be developed in other parts of Scotland. We have already mentioned the £2 million for empty homes. Some projects in Scotland are already working, so how do we learn from them? We are also looking at the number of empty homes officers in different parts of Scotland and whether it needs to be increased. Edinburgh council recently increased its allocation by one officer, so it is focusing on that as well.

We talked about the five target local authorities. We will be working very closely with Edinburgh on empty homes, because if it can reduce its number of empty homes in the same way that Glasgow did, 3,500 properties would be available in the next two to three years. That is significant. Where do we learn the lessons from that? In terms of other local authorities and the work being done by Perth and Kinross Council, there is an opportunity for closer work with the Scottish Association of Landlords, which is working very closely with us on looking at schemes that can be delivered. Again, we will look at the progress of that at the next meeting of the housing to 2040 strategic board in March.

You are right. Building houses also helps the local economy. One of the issues is the availability of local construction companies. There might be one or two in an area and we need to continue to build on that.

The Construction Industry Training Board carried out some work about a year ago, I think it was, that broke Scotland into 10 areas. It looked at construction capacity, learning opportunities in colleges and so on. Also, a Highland housing challenge summit was held a few months ago and one of the key things that it talked about was how to develop the construction sector there, so the issue is being discussed. Highland Council is also looking at the opportunities that it has and the challenges that it faces in developing the freeport, which will create capacity issues in construction while it is being developed. However, that is a huge opportunity to develop the sector and the local economy in that area.

Hubcos do a lot of work on delivering schools, for example. The programme tries to maximise the opportunities that are already on-going, and the hubcos already do a lot of good work in Scotland on finance models for delivering schools.

The question is whether we can extend that to housing and the infrastructure that is required around it. The housing investment task force—in which those bodies are involved, as well as investors and the SFHA—is considering opportunities for doing that. The task force will produce some recommendations, probably towards the end of March, and we will contact the committee about that.

The question is how we can flex the system that we already have. That is obviously applicable to Argyll and Bute Council and other local authorities.

I totally agree. The board was set up to look at longer-term structural change and to deliver it by 2040.

The board has been running for a period of time, but, in our discussions about the housing emergency for the past year or so, there has been an agreement across the board that one of the key things that we have to do, for a short period of time, is pivot towards a focus on tackling the housing emergency, because we need to get our approach to that right before we move on. That was agreed, so that has been our focus. The discussions that we had with stakeholders at that time were about an agreement to focus on the housing emergency. We then looked at bringing in additional members, again with a focus on that.

You are fundamentally correct—we have been discussing the matter at every meeting, and it was raised by stakeholders in one of the discussions that we had last week. I co-chair the meetings with COSLA, and the cabinet secretary attends, on occasion, as well. One of the key things that we discussed last week was that we need to continue to agree on what the short-term measures will be, because we need to get out of the housing emergency as soon as possible. That was raised within a discussion about how we look at the strategic objectives for 2040 in terms of the housing emergency.

There are issues that we need to look at. One is around the finance model, which the housing investment task force has been looking at. How we maximise opportunities for financing housing in Scotland was identified by stakeholders as one of those issues. Another one is housing affordability, which is relevant not just in Scotland but right across Europe. The question is how we look at tackling that, so we have been engaging—with Professor Ken Gibb, for example—on what affordability is. We have previously had discussions on that in the committee. What is affordability and how do we look at closing the affordability gap? It is an issue in Scotland but also in the rest of the UK and in Europe. It is an issue right across France. I think that Spain has announced a 100 per cent tax on properties that are bought by people outwith Spain, so if European Union nationals purchase properties there, there will be a 100 per cent tax on those. The reason why Spain has cited for that measure is the need for affordable housing for its own people. There are various things that we need to move on—affordability is one and financial flexibility is another.

How do we move on to that? There was agreement to come back to that at our next meeting and to discuss what things we need to pick up in terms of this immediate stage and the period to 2040. We are going to get feedback from stakeholders on that particular point.

We need to learn the lessons about how we got here. The challenges with housing exist across Europe, not just in Scotland. They exist in England and in other parts of Europe as well. How do we get to where we want to be? We need to look at what requires to change structurally over that period. That is what housing to 2040 was set up for. The stakeholders mentioned that last week, and we agreed to come back and ask what we need to focus on now, in the medium term. There is no point in taking time to get out of the housing emergency and then saying, “Oh, right—we need to think about this now that we’re out of it.” We need to be doing that in conjunction with what we are already doing. It is about getting that balance. We discussed that last week with the board, and, at our next meeting, we will discuss what the strategic objectives will be.

We need to set out the strategic objectives to 2040, for whatever Government is in place. We must continue to work on the long-term objectives and on long-term structural change in order to deliver on our target. Financing and affordability are issues that we need to pick up on.

I am aware of that, although it probably falls outwith my remit—another minister would deal with it. I can speak to the relevant minister about that. As you know, we try as best we can to source local produce from across Scotland. That is good for the economy and for how we tackle climate change, which we are looking to do. We are working on how we do that in the work that is being done. We can come back to you on that point. Another minister is probably dealing with it, and we can liaise with them about the point on tackling climate change.

We can come back to you on that.

Thank you, convener. I appreciate the opportunity to update the committee on our wide-ranging work in response to the housing emergency.

I acknowledge that 2024 was a challenging year for housing delivery. However, by declaring and addressing the housing emergency, we have acted decisively to support individuals and families across Scotland, who remain at the heart of our action. Our vision is clear: it is for everyone to have a safe, good-quality and affordable home that meets their needs in the place that they want to be. The proposed increase in funding for the affordable housing supply programme in the next financial year further strengthens our commitment to delivery.

The housing emergency requires a responsive and bold approach to ensure the best outcomes. There is no one definition of the emergency, as the pressures in the system are complex and have different impacts in different parts of Scotland. As I outlined in my letter to the committee last month, we have prioritised a regional approach to deliver the impact that we wish to make by working most urgently with the five local authorities that are experiencing the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures.

Ministers and officials are engaging intensively with those local authorities to advance a range of activity, including the targeted use of £40 million to acquire additional homes and bring social voids into use. For example, in Fife, 25 properties were recently acquired and will soon be available for people to move into, while a further 12 acquisitions are approved and in progress. In 2025, we plan to make record funding of £15 billion available to councils for services, including homelessness services, alongside £97 million for discretionary housing payments and £4 million to support local authorities and front-line homelessness prevention services.

We have taken an activist approach to working with stakeholders on our emergency response and refocused our external housing to 2040 governance board to drive action on the housing emergency. We strengthened the board last week by welcoming new members from Shelter, Crisis, Homeless Network Scotland and the Wheatley Group, thereby fostering collaboration to deliver practical solutions to address the housing emergency. Their input on impactful funding, potential risks and new ideas was incredibly valuable as we planned our next steps together.

Among the promising early initiatives that the board is considering are further efforts to bring privately owned empty homes back into use. That is supported by the £2 million allocation for empty homes that was announced in the draft budget. We will continue to ask our partners to join us with the urgency and innovation that is needed to accelerate progress.

In rural Scotland, more than 12,400 affordable homes were delivered between April 2016 and March 2024. At the annual summit on the rural and island housing action plan in October, I highlighted successes such as the rural and islands housing fund, which recently supported an award-winning regeneration project. Joint funding with the Nationwide Foundation is helping community organisations to build capacity and deliver affordable homes. Our demand-led key worker fund, which has up to £25 million available until 2028, has already supported projects in Orkney, Highland, Moray and North Ayrshire.

In 2024, we also faced the impact of hugely reduced capital budgets across Government, driven by United Kingdom Government cuts. Despite that, we unlocked further funding throughout the year, including £40 million for acquisitions.

We also invested £22 million as part of our charitable bond programme. That generated a further £7 million in charitable donations, which, in addition to our investment through the affordable housing supply programme, will be used to deliver more homes. In 2023-24, we used more than £71 million of charitable bond donations to supplement our affordable housing supply programme investment, which will support the delivery of more than 600 housing association social rented homes. I am very pleased that the proposed budget for our affordable housing supply programme in 2025-26 will involve an increase of more than £200 million compared to the published budget for 2024-25. Subject to the budget being passed by the Parliament in the coming months, we will focus on ensuring the most impactful use of those funds.

In pursuit of that objective, last week ministers asked the housing to 2040 board to consider proposals that will reduce the number of families with children that are in temporary accommodation. We are also working with local authorities to develop innovative plans to maximise housing delivery. Where the Scottish Government can use its powers to do even more, we are committed to doing so.

I hope that this update has provided a clear overview. We are resolute in our determination to tackle the housing emergency and, together with our partners and communities, we will continue to make progress.

My immediate focus will be on planning the effective allocation of the significant funding that will be forthcoming if the budget is agreed. I look forward to updating you on that in the coming months.

I will go on to talk about progress, but on the areas that you queried, the record level of funding is £15 billion available to councils, £97 million for discretionary housing payments, and £4 million to support local authorities and front-line services. The board members who joined us last week were from Shelter, Crisis, the Wheatley Group and Homeless Network Scotland.

Coming back to progress, I have a number of points. At the start of the meeting, I said that this is a complex area. We have taken a number of actions, focusing on delivery. One of the key actions concerns planning—which you will have heard about from Ivan McKee—and the creation of the housing planning hub. We did that through extensive discussions with Homes for Scotland, for example.

On the back of that, on 15 November, we convened a group of key stakeholders to work on the issue of stalled sites. There will be a meeting on 17 January to talk about the progress that has been made on that. There has been significant focus on how we remove the barriers around stalled sites. You will have seen that several statements were made about houses that were approved but that have not yet been delivered. We are focusing on sites that have just started or that have not started yet through the planning delivery hub, including through speaking to partners such as Homes for Scotland. I will bring in Lauren McNamara to talk more about what work has been carried out on that.

On the affordable housing supply programme, I mentioned the £40 million fund. When we are talking about the housing emergency, we need to look at it in two ways. First, how do we reduce the number of people in temporary accommodation, particularly children? What can we do to bring homes back into use? We have talked about voids, empty homes and acquisitions

We also need to consider the longer-term sustainable actions that need to be taken, and the £40 million is focused on that. There have been significant reductions in some local authorities. For example, the City of Edinburgh Council has made a significant difference in reducing the number of void properties. That is really important.

Another key issue is the removal of delivery barriers. When I met all the housing conveners at a Convention of Scottish Local Authorities meeting about eight or nine months ago, one of the key things that I was told in relation to voids was about energy and utility companies being able to come in to get properties back into use, so we held a round-table meeting with utility companies to try to increase the turnover of social homes.

We have taken a number of actions. Later, I might talk about the focus on the five key local authorities and the specific actions that we have taken, but that is a general overview of what we have done. Our work is focused on how we can get homes turned around as quickly as possible while increasing the supply of affordable housing, because we need to continue to build houses. We have a good record on that.

That is a general overview of the initial actions that we have taken, and I am happy to go into more detail as we get into more questions.