Question reference: S5W-07266
- Asked by: Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 16 February 2017
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Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 March 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual economic contribution is of the housebuilding sector, and what action it takes to support it.
Answer
Estimating the economic contribution of the house building sector is complex. However, using the latest Scottish Government Input-Output model of the economy, it is estimated that for house construction spending of £100m in 2017 supports around 1200 full-time equivalent Scottish jobs in the wider economy for that year and contributes around £60m to Scottish GDP. 77% of these jobs are in the construction sector.
In 2015-16, Scottish Government support for new build through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme is estimated to have leveraged over £0.5bn of investment to build 4,418 new homes, supporting over 6,000 construction and related jobs in Scotland.
In terms of wider support to industry, Scottish Government provides help to industry in a number of ways, including direct support through Infrastructure funding, the ongoing Planning review, as well as support for demand through the Help to Buy (Scotland) Affordable New Build schemes and our LIFT shared equity schemes for low-income and first time buyers.