Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 26 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been (a) allocated to and (b) spent by the (i) Rural and (ii) Islands Housing Fund in each year of its operation.
The following table provides a breakdown of funding allocated to the demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund (RIHF), and expenditure, by financial year, between April 2016 and end March 2025.
A total of £14.358 million has been spent through the Rural Housing Fund, and £15.876 million through the Islands Housing Fund.
Financial Year | Rural and Islands Housing Fund Budget | Total Expenditure | Rural Housing Fund Expenditure | Islands Housing Fund Expenditure |
2016-2017 | 6.000 | 0.134 | 0.107 | 0.027 |
2017-2018 | 6.000 | 1.061 | 0.955 | 0.106 |
2018-2019 | 5.000 | 1.650 | 1.431 | 0.219 |
2019-2020 | 4.500 | 2.823 | 2.141 | 0.682 |
2020-2021 | 5.000 | 4.916 | 3.062 | 1.854 |
2021-2022 | 6.000 | 4.793 | 2.392 | 2.401 |
2022-2023 | 6.250 | 4.083 | 1.458 | 2.625 |
2023-2024 | 7.200 | 6.679 | 2.412 | 4.268 |
2024-2025 | 4.500 | 4.094 | 0.400 | 3.694 |
Total | 50.450 | 30.233 | 14.358 | 15.876 |
Individual lines in the table may not add up to the totals due to rounding to £0.000 million.
Whilst the demand-led RIHF offers some targeted funding to support rural and island housing delivery, the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) comprises a range of funding mechanisms to enable homes for social rent, mid-market rent, and low-cost home ownership across Scotland, supporting priorities set out in local authorities’ Local Housing Strategies and Strategic Housing Investment Plans.
Between 2016-2017 and 2023-2024, the AHSP, including the Rural and Islands Housing Fund, has supported the delivery of over 12,000 affordable homes in rural and island communities.