Responding to Housing Minister Alex Neil’s warning that the social housing sector “must prepare for the storm ahead”, Jonathan Fair, Chief Executive of industry body Homes for Scotland, called for house building to become a national priority.

He said: “There can be no doubt about the severe impact the squeeze on public finances will have on social housing. If Scotland’s housing needs are to be met, it is imperative that conditions are created which will encourage and increase private sector investment in housing across all tenures.

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“To make this happen, the Scottish Government must take on two urgent challenges: firstly, by helping to overcome the difficulties in the mortgage market and, secondly, by removing the burdens placed on developers to fund schools, roads and other community facilities and infrastructure.

“The rationale is simple and outcomes clear: the more new private homes are built, the more new jobs are created and the more new social housing is delivered as a direct consequence. If we are to provide access to the full range of quality housing options that this and future generations deserve, house building must become a national priority.”

(GK)