Question reference: S6W-00420
- Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 2 June 2021
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 June 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to increase the availability of social housing for rural communities.
Answer
Through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund and the wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme, over 4,800 affordable homes were delivered between 2016-17 and 2019-20 in rural and island communities across Scotland.
Housing to 2040, published in March 2021, includes an ambition to deliver a further 100,000 affordable homes across Scotland up to 2032, that will continue to deliver for rural communities, with at least 70% of these for social rent, once the current 50,000 affordable homes target has been delivered.
We will invest £3.5 billion in housing in this Parliamentary term, £3.44 billion of which will deliver more social and affordable homes in urban and rural areas across Scotland.
In November 2020, we announced that the demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund, which aims to increase the supply of affordable housing across all tenures, would continue beyond March 2021 with up to £30 million being made available as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.