Alarm greeted the news that only 15,150 new homes were built in Scotland last year, a 41% decrease on pre-credit crunch figures.

Homes for Scotland said the statistics, released today by the Scottish government, should be a "wake-up call" to the construction industry and asked the government to intervene.

Philip Hogg of the trade body said: "If this downward trend is not arrested the long-term social consequences could be severe and far-reaching. We are working hard to assist those locked out of the market but we desperately need further Scottish Government intervention to ensure that the planning system operates effectively, and to deliver the low carbon agenda without impacting on housing costs and output."

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Michael Levack of the Scottish Building Federation said the only way to rescue the industry would be by reversing government cuts.

He said: "We're facing nothing short of a major crisis in the supply of new homes. The number of publicly funded new homes completed annually fell by 9% in 2010 and by a further 8% in 2011. That provides clear evidence that cuts to public capital investment are beginning to bite – and the prognosis must be that, without action to reverse planned spending cuts, the number of public sector new homes will continue to drop over the coming years. Only then will the Scottish construction industry be able to start rebuilding the capacity we have lost."

In a separate statement, the Government confirmed it had exceeded it own targets for affordable housing.

See the statistics here.

(NE)