23 Aug 2018
The SNP will miss their affordable housing promise by five years, according to new research by the Scottish Conservatives.
In 2016 the SNP pledged to build 50,000 new affordable homes by 2021. Since then they have completed less than 10,000, leaving approximately 40,000 to be completed by 2021.
On this current trajectory, the SNP will only achieve this target by 2026, five years later than the promise the SNP made to the Scottish public.
A year after Ruth Davidson outlined innovative proposals to revitalise the housing sector, the Scottish Conservatives have attacked the SNP’s complacency and called on the Scottish Government to fulfil their promise so that more Scots have an affordable home to live in.
The proposals outlined by Ruth included a commitment to build 100,000 new homes over the course of this parliament – with half of them affordable housing, refurbish the nearly 30,000 empty properties in Scotland to bring them back into use and a new national Housing and Infrastructure Agency.
Ruth also proposed expanding simplified planning zones across the country and the creation of new towns.
Scottish Conservative housing spokesman Graham Simpson said:
“The SNP’s complacency on housing is staggering, they are on track to miss their own target by 50 percent.
“This means that 25,000 Scots will have to wait even longer to be able to afford a home.
“The SNP must come clean and admit that they are woefully behind their target.
“When we talk about housing, we are not simply talking about bricks and mortar. We are talking about the homes that provide the security and opportunity for a family to grow and flourish.
“The dream of home ownership shouldn’t be unobtainable. The SNP must get back to work and deliver the promise they campaigned on.”
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