He accepted that there was a general priority to increase housing supply and tackle homelessness but came under fire for not offering hope of even reversing huge cuts to the affordable housing budget, revealed by he Herald.
It fell short of any commitment to extra money after professional standards body the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) said they needed to commit hundreds of millions of pounds extra each year on providing affordable housing to resolve the emergency finally announced by the Scottish Government.
The Herald revealed a year ago how professional standards body CIH had raised concerns over cuts to the budget and warned progress on homelessness is at risk without a funding commitment over rapid rehousing in permanent homes rather than in temporary accommodation.
In the wake of the Scottish Government making a symbolic housing emergency declaration in mid-May, the key housing professionals group had said that while it is a start, it is not enough as a key Scottish Government funding bid to end the crisis lost more than £300m over the past two years alone.
Callum Chomczuk, national director of CIH Scotland said that even reversing the cuts in the affordable homes budget will not be enough to solve the crisis and deliver a key Scottish Government target to deliver 110,000 social and affordable homes by 2032.
The housing emergency declaration was made by social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville a month ago during a Labour-led debate at Holyrood and ministers have cited UK government austerity, inflation labour shortages linked to Brexit and a freeze to local housing allowance rates for the situation.
UK ministers said that the Scottish government receives about 25% more funding from Whitehall than other parts of the UK.
The SNP previously voted against a Labour motion declaring a housing emergency in November.
By declaring the emergency, the Scottish government was said to be formally recognising the housing problem but there are no practical effects that happen as a result.
The Scottish Government’s affordable homes budget has taken a cumulative hit of over £300m over the past two years – based against the 2022/23 allocation of £831.445m – despite the a pledge by outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf of a £80m uplift for affordable housing over the next two years.
Housing campaigners have been staggered by a £196.08m (26%) cut to the budget in the past year alone, without taking into account inflation, with the spending plans for 2024/25 set at £555.862m before the extra money promised by the First Minister.
If the budget had kept up with inflation in 2024/25, the spending plans would have been at £985.25m.
Without taking into account inflation, the shortfall against 2022/23 is at £315.08m.
When inflation has been taken into account, instead of getting £2.723bn over the three years – the affordable homes budget is at £2.179bn.
Housing minister Paul McLennan said they had a new national outcome on housing to provide more high quality permanent homes, that they are in the right places and that there is a permanent home for everyone.
He talked of the extra £80m planned over two years previously announced by the last First Minister Humza Yousaf to go into the affordable housing budget.
He said he was consulting with Convention of Scottish Local Authorities discuss support to We are consulting with COSLA, discussing support to local authorities over the “temporary accommodation challenges”.
“We remain committee to transforming and modernizing the homeless system,” he said.
“We need all parts of Scotland’s housing market to work together to tackle the housing crisis,” he said.”
Housing campaigners Living Rent said it was “another missed opportunity to give clarity on what the Scottish Government is actually going to do”.
Aditi Jehangir, chairman of Living Rent said: “Committing money to the affordable housing budget is vital and the government must go further.
“In the face of a housing emergency we need this government to be bold. Crucially for tenants currently living in unaffordable housing, we need this government to commit to ensuring that empty land is prioritised for social and council housing, encourage stock buy back and introduce a strong system of rent controls.
“Rents across the country are causing misery and exacerbating the housing crisis, and it is vital that these sky-high rents are reined in.”
The affordable homes plan set out by Nicola Sturgeon in a Programme for Government in 2021 aimed to “build on our investment in housing”.
And Mr Yousaf in announcing the new money added: “Housing is essential in our efforts to tackle child poverty and reduce inequality across Scotland, and it supports jobs and growth in the economy.
The emergency declaration has come while the number of affordable homes being approved for build has slumped.
As of December, Scotland has been averaging 633 affordable housing starts a month since setting the target. To meet a 110,000 homes target they have to deliver at an average of 894 homes a month.
This is set against the number of open homelessness applications in Scotland soaring by 30% since the pandemic began – from 22,754 in March, 2020, to 29,652 in 2022/23. The homeless household numbers being forced into temporary accommodation – like hotels and bed and breakfasts – rather than settled homes has shot up from 11,807 to 15,039.
Eight local authorities have now declared a symbolic housing emergency – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Argyll and Bute, Fife, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and the Scottish Borders, all citing housing shortages.
The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, in a July analysis, said that the supply of affordable homes has fallen 20% in three years and “shows no sign of recovering”.
They say at least 125,000 homes for social rent were needed simply to satisfy existing demand.
Its July analysis revealed that 243,603 people are currently on the waiting list for social housing, but only 26,102 allocations were made across the entire country.
Official data shows the overall number of affordable homes being started for build including for rent in the social sector has dropped to the lowest annual level for eight years. Some 6,302 affordable homes were begun in the year to the end of September as part of an official programme – but that is a 24% drop (1,996 homes) on the 7,159 started in the last annual analysis.
A coalition of leading housing and anti-poverty organisations has expressed its disappointment at the Housing Minister Paul McLennan’s statement at Holyrood today.
The coalition which includes members of the Scottish Government’s own Housing to 2040 strategic board, warned that it had no confidence existing structures could deliver unless the First Minister was willing to invest political capital in changing course.
A joint statement issued by the coalition which includes the Chartered Institute of Housing and Shelter Scotland said: “It’s extremely disappointing that, despite having declared a housing emergency, the Scottish Government has made clear today that it intends to proceed with business as usual.
“This morning, this unprecedented coalition of leading housing and anti-poverty organisations, which includes members of the Scottish Government’s own Housing to 2040 Strategic Board, urged ministers to change course. We made clear that restoring the brutal cuts to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme would be an important place to start.
“Our call has not been heeded. “Current plans have the right aims, but they’ve been fatally undermined by spending cuts at both Holyrood and Westminster, an absence of accountability for delivery, and a lack of political will.
“If the First Minister isn’t willing to invest his political capital into a new approach, then existing structures simply cannot deliver the response Scotland needs.
“We would urge the First Minister to meet with us, urgently, so that we can discuss how he and his government can change course and build more homes for the 10,000 children in Scotland who need one.”
