Scotland
UK
Ireland
London
The Scottish Government has said it is to invest even more money to try and tackle the country's housing shortage.
Announced today, it was confirmed that an additional £25m is to be invested next year in charitable bonds, which could result in as many as 450 affordable homes being constructed.
The money, which will be from the UK Government's 'financial transactions' funding, can only be used as loan and equity investment but through a charitable bond model, the Scottish Government has developed an innovative way of creating grant to support affordable housing in Scotland.
Through the bonds, £7.3m of grant subsidy will be used to deliver more than 125 social rented units, while £17.7m of loan funding will be provided to support housing associations build more than 300 social homes.
The investment is part of a £200m increase in the Scottish Government's housing supply budget for next year.
Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil said: "In a fair and socially just society we want to make sure that everyone in Scotland has access to good quality housing that meets their needs.
"Charitable bonds represent the type of fresh thinking that is helping increase the supply of affordable homes and is supporting our construction industry.
"Through our partners in councils and housing associations, we have now delivered more than 21,000 affordable homes and are two-thirds of the way towards our target of 30,000.
"We have boosted housing supply budgets by investing £1.7 billion in affordable housing over the lifetime of this Parliament. Our house building rates, per head, continue to outperform other parts of the UK."
Heather Macnaughton, Head of Community Investment at Castle Rock Edinvar, added: "We are delighted that there is further funding being made available to develop the use of the charitable bond model in Scotland, to increase finance available for affordable housing.
"Continued financial innovation by the sector is required to maximise the return on the Scottish Government's investment and deliver housing that is affordable to everyone."
(JP/IT)
