Chance to create a fairer Scotland
NEXT week, the Scottish Government will publish its Programme for Government. The challenges it must tackle are significant, as we deal with the continuing effects of Covid. Nevertheless, there’s also an opportunity to create a fairer and more equal country: one in which everyone has a warm, safe, affordable home in a thriving community.
The pandemic drew further attention to the poverty and inequality that persists in Scotland. At the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), we represent more than 90 per cent of the housing associations and co-operatives in Scotland, and we know that the affordable housing provided by our members can really make a difference. Not only do lower social sector rents help to reduce poverty, but building safe, warm, energy-efficient homes also improves people’s health and wellbeing, creates jobs, and stimulates the economy. While progress was made on tackling housing need during the last parliament, there is so much more still to do. Housing need is not finite, and it’s vital that the new programme of affordable housing in this parliament and beyond continues delivering the homes required. Our research with Shelter Scotland and CIH Scotland found 53,000 affordable homes are required between 2021 and 2026, including 37,100 for social rent.
The recent partnership agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Greens upped the stakes on house building, promising to build 10,000 more affordable homes than the 100,000 initially promised in the Housing to 2040 strategy. We welcome this: but it must be properly funded. The cost of building a home is rising, and our members are increasingly reporting problems and delays in the supply chain. Meeting this new target will be impossible if investment levels are not regularly reviewed and increased where necessary.
WITH COP26 on the horizon, climate change has never been a more pressing issue. Housing associations and co-operatives already have the most energy-efficient housing stock in Scotland. However, more than a third of their tenants live in fuel poverty: primarily due to lower incomes than people in other types of tenancy. New, more demanding energy-efficiency requirements for social landlords will take us further down the road of decarbonising our homes, but they involve substantial costs, which social housing tenants cannot be expected to shoulder. No tenant should be left with costs they can’t afford or a heating system that doesn’t work for them. We need a commitment to a fair economic, social and technical transition to net-zero. This will require a “fabric first” approach: that is, making sure the materials used to construct homes are as energyefficient as possible. It’s also vital that housing associations and co-operatives can easily access flexible investment to allow them to improve their existing homes, as well as meet targets for new building developments.
There is much work to be done as we emerge from the pandemic. With a new Rented Sector Strategy and Housing Bill also expected within the next parliamentary term, housing will be central to Scottish Government policy for many years to come. Working together, we can make sure more people feel the benefit of high quality, secure and affordable housing: a goal that is truly worth striving for.