Chamber and committees

Since declaring a national Housing Emergency in May 2024, I am proud that:

• This year the Affordable Housing Supply Programme will invest £808 million - an increase of more than £251 million on last year’s budget;
• Approvals for affordable housing between July-September are up by 61% compared to last year;
• £120 million targeted through our acquisitions fund is supporting the acquisition of at least 1,200 homes – helping to reduce homeless households in temporary accommodation;
• In 2026-27 we are investing at least £1.3 million towards the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, ensuring that empty homes are brought back into use - building on our record investment of £5.7 million since 2010;
• We have helped an estimated 2,261 households with children into affordable housing in the year to end June 2025;
• Our action to keep rents lower than market rents benefits approximately 140,000 children in poverty each year and we have introduced provisions for a national system of evidence based rent control;
• Our draft budget for 2026/7 commits the single largest funding allocation to affordable housing since our records began in 1989 and our Spending Review, for the first time, offers multi-annual certainty for the coming four years;
• The draft Budget also commits an additional £4 million for action to prevent homelessness. This is in addition to £11.5 million for activities such as rapid rehousing and the Fund to Leave - as well as a further £23.5 million already baselined for Local Government; and
• We have worked to create the optimum conditions for investment including by setting an all-tenure target, developing clear exemptions from rent control for Mid-Market Rent and Build to Rent developments and by seeking an emergency-led approach from Local Authority Heads of Planning.

Together with our partners, so much has been achieved.

However our efforts to tackle the emergency have tested and exposed the limitations of the current housing delivery arrangement in Scotland. Ultimately, we must deliver more high quality, affordable homes, more quickly. We must simplify the landscape to achieve economy of scale savings; increase land and infrastructure support; and enable closer working with the private sector. The root and branch action demanded by this challenge requires us to think, and to act, in a radical way.

The First Minister will today announce the intention of the Scottish Government to create a new agency focused squarely and simply on accelerating housing delivery in Scotland. While extending its reach to all tenures, it will maintain an emphasis on affordable housing.

The agency will bring together housing, land, planning support and delivery expertise to simplify, scale and speed up the delivery of homes. Working with local authorities and Ministers through a joined-up model we will improve capacity, support regeneration and rural housing, and reduce duplication across government.

This tangible Government action in response to the Housing Emergency will take a Scotland wide all-tenure approach and focus on four pillars: affordable housing delivery, rural and island housing, land and development, and investment. It will also ensure we continue to deliver on the objectives set out in the Housing Emergency Action Plan and our Housing to 2040 strategy.

This new agency will help to drive forward the core government priorities of eradicating child poverty and growing our economy. It will also help to support first time buyers by increasing supply.

I will be working with experts across the housing sector, supported by COSLA and the Scottish National Investment Bank, to lead an initial design phase over the next two months to refine the operating model. This will allow us to carefully consider how this new agency optimises delivery while ensuring maximum value for money.

I intend to update Parliament in March, upon conclusion of the design phase but I am pleased to confirm the intention to announce, for simplicity, scale and speed: More Homes Scotland.

Following a positive recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee, from the 12 January 2026, all newborn babies in Scotland will be eligible for testing for Hereditary Tyrosinemia Type 1 (HT1) through the existing bloodspot test. Introducing newborn screening for HT1 will enable earlier diagnosis and treatment for babies born with this life-threatening condition. This will significantly reduce the number of babies who develop severe liver disease as a result of this condition. It may also lower the likelihood that those diagnosed with HT1 will require a liver transplant later in life.

I can announce to Parliament today that this winter, the Scottish Government is investing over half a million pounds to support people at risk of rough sleeping. The majority of funds will be targeted in Edinburgh and Glasgow, where rough sleeping is most concentrated.

This includes £432,660 of funding provided to support the operation of rapid rehousing welcome centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh this year. These welcome centres provide a safe, dignified and inclusive alternative to night shelters and are part of a longstanding Scottish Government commitment to phase out the use of communal night shelter provision for people experiencing homelessness. Since 2020 we have delivered over £1.6 million of funding to support the operation of rapid rehousing welcome centres, which have provided over 6,500 people at risk of rough sleeping with accommodation and support.

We are also providing third sector homelessness organisations across Scotland with £100,000 of funding for personalised budgets this winter. Personalised budgets provide outreach teams with quick access to funds, enabling them to meet the immediate and individual needs of people at risk of rough sleeping and provide them with support in a person-centred way. This will bring total funding for personalised budget funding since 2020 to £415,000.

The UK Government’s no recourse to public funds (NRPF) policy prevents national and local government from providing accommodation to some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our society. In addition to frontline funding, which is designed to support everyone regardless of their immigration status, the Scottish Government funds Fair Way Scotland to enable this consortium of third sector organisations to provide people with no recourse to public funds with access to basic necessities, support, advocacy and accommodation.

Scotland is excited to co-host EURO 2028 as part of the biggest ever sporting event jointly hosted by the UK & Ireland. EURO 2028 will be an unforgettable summer of football that will create memories to last a lifetime.

The Scottish Government will invest up to £73 million, including contingency. This funding will help deliver a safe and successful event, and unlock the far-reaching social and economic benefits. Updated socio-economic figures show benefits of hosting EURO 2028 of £3.6 billion for the UK and Ireland. Scotland’s estimated share is £270 million.

Scottish Government investment sits alongside funding contributions from other government partners in the UK and Ireland. Our support for EURO 2028 includes a £3.2 million investment into social impact and community activity programmes which form part of a wider partner social impact fund of circa £45 million. This investment will generate significant benefits long after the tournament concludes. It will help to deliver on the Scottish Government’s priority of Growing the Economy by creating jobs, driving regional prosperity and encouraging visitors to our nation. It is also designed to reduce barriers to opportunity, bring communities together through shared national moments and showcase Scotland as a world class host of major events. A key objective for Scottish Government is to spread the socio-economic benefits of hosting EURO 2028 throughout Scotland.

Through the relevant budget review processes Scottish Government will continue to scrutinise the budget lines and engage with the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee as appropriate.