The Scottish Government's refreshed Housing Emergency Action Plan has been welcomed by the sector body Homes for Scotland (HFS).

The plan, announced by Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Màiri McAllan, follows extensive engagement with the industry and is seen by HFS as reflecting a positive change in both engagement and tone from the Scottish Government.

HFS Chief Executive Jane Wood said it is clear the Cabinet Secretary has listened to the challenges facing the sector, as well as the solutions the body has been promoting. The plan includes a number of key asks from HFS, such as the need for an all-tenure approach, multi-year funding commitments for affordable housing, planning interventions, and greater proportionality for SME home builders.

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A key commitment in the plan is the ambition to increase housing delivery across all tenures by at least 10 per cent each year over the first three years of the next Parliament. HFS has described this as a "vital commitment" that now requires future policy and regulation to boost, rather than hinder, new housing delivery.

The plan's additional focus on SME home builders is viewed as critical for unlocking brownfield land and delivering rural homes, where nearly half of rural Scots view the lack of available housing as a key reason for people moving away. HFS has stated that it will now work with officials on the plan's details and delivery to ensure it achieves "maximum impact."