Scotland’s ‘chronic’ lack of homes blamed for loss of 8,000 new jobs

SCOTLAND is suffering from a “chronic” housing shortfall, now approaching 100,000 homes, resulting in the loss of 8,000 new job opportunities.

Industry body Homes for Scotland (HFS), which represents 200 member organisations with an aim to deliver more homes for the country, says the“housing gap” is the result of significant and consistent undersupply over the past 14 years.

Its analysis states that over this period, Scotland has not achieved a yearly requirement of 25,000 new homes.

The group says ministers must set an all-tenure target of at least 25,000 new homes per year – the minimum quantity the group claims is needed to meet with current demand – believing it would provide Scotland with 8,000 new jobs.

HFS’S chief executive, Nicola Barclay, said the current shortfall figure is 12 per cent less than pre-2008 recession levels.

The group said that in just one year the housing shortfall has cost £52 million in missed local infrastructure investment which could have been spent on education, health and community facilities.

HFS commissioned independent consultancy Lichfields to explore the social and economic benefits of new homes. Its report calls for local authorities and government to look beyond the bricks and mortar of home building and recognise the huge additional social and economic potential this unlocks at a regional and national level.

Taking statistics for 2019, when approximately 22,500 new homes were built, the study calculates the gain that could be achieved by increasing completion levels to 25,000.

It also had the potential to create 8,000 additional new jobs and increased economic output of £300m in one year.

The benefits are in addition to the £500m already paid in developer contributions annually for affordable housing, community facilities and infrastructure, the 79,000 jobs the home building sector currently supports and the more than £3 billion that it generates in terms of economic output.

Ms Barclay said: “Having a home is the most basic of human needs.

Yet there are still too many examples of people in Scotland without a home at all or living in substandard accommodation, and we all have personal examples of people we know struggling to find a home that they can afford as house prices and rents continue to soar due to lack of supply.

“As the 2019 figures show, although we have been making progress towards the 25,000 homes of all tenures that we believe is necessary, there remains a significant housing gap.

“It is also still 12% less than pre-2008 recession levels, resulting in a cumulative undersupply approaching 100,000 homes. ”

Official figures show the number of new-build completions dropped by 35% in Scotland in 2020

Ms Barclay added: “What I hope the report clearly illustrates is that housing cannot be viewed in isolation. The hugely positive impact that having a decent home has on people’s daily lives and the environment in which we live cannot be understated. “

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Scotland has led the way in the delivery of affordable housing across the UK with more than 105,750 affordable homes delivered since 2007, over 73,000 of which were for social rent.

“Good housing and homes support our health, our wellbeing, our life chances and our job prospects. Everyone should have a home that brings those opportunities and that is why we’ve set a target to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent.”