Scotland's home builders have reacted swiftly to offers of support made today by Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Development John Swinney MSP to keep a paper mill in Fife (which last week announced 180 redundancies) going, demanding immediate action to help an industry which has already lost 15,000 people.

Jonathan Fair, Chief Executive of representative body Homes for Scotland, said: "New build starts in Scotland were down by almost 50% in the last quarter, a trend which has already resulted in up to 15,000 redundancies. We are now facing job losses within home building that are already more than ten times the level seen at Ravenscraig, with the impact being felt the length and breadth of the country. We've been talking to Ministers for months - a support package which is appropriate to the scale of this crisis is required now."

According to Fair, whilst Westminster has recognised that the health of the home building industry is key to the UK's economic wellbeing, the Scottish Government’s assistance to date, although welcome, has largely involved the tweaking of existing programmes.

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He said: "Scotland may still have the most resilient housing market in the UK but significant investment of NEW money, from within the Housing Budget or elsewhere, is urgently needed.

"Without this, not only will the Scottish Government's housing targets be in shreds, the irreversible loss of skills and capacity that we are beginning to see will have long-term consequences. In addition, the largest source of private investment in schools, roads, infrastructure and other community facilities will be lost. Many projects are already stalling. That is why I have called for a dedicated meeting of the Scottish Government's Housing Supply Task Force."

Homes for Scotland is also calling for the Scottish Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell to provide further details on the initiative he alluded to in a recent radio interview which would enable private home builders to sell land, part-built and completed stock to Housing Associations and Registered Social Landlords.

Fair said: "Such a response would be a golden opportunity to provide the range of affordable homes that Scotland so desperately needs, whilst maintaining jobs for construction workers and a level of cash flow to the industry. We look forward in anticipation to a formal announcement of the parameters of such a policy, including the budget and delivery mechanism to put it into practice.

"Such concepts have been outlined by the UK Housing Minister in her announcement of measures such as the National Clearance House. Similar actions are now needed in Scotland."

(GK/JM)