Campaigners have welcomed money for affordable homes in the Scottish Budget, but say it merely reverses cuts in previous years.
Living Rent said the scale of the housing shortage means the £768 million pledged is only a “drop in the ocean”.
Last year’s budget included cuts to funding for housing and planning, which was condemned by a number of anti-poverty charities.
However this money was partially restored in April, during the final days of Humza Yousaf’s period as first minister.
During her speech outlining the Budget for 2025/26 on Wednesday, Finance Secretary Shona Robison said warm and safe houses are “critical” to tackling child poverty.
She said: “We are going to ramp up action on housing, investing £768 million in affordable homes.
“It enables over 8,000 new properties for social rent, mid-market rent and low-cost home ownership to be built or acquired this coming year, and returns spending to a higher level than it was two years ago.”
Aditi Jehangir, chairwoman of Living Rent, said: “Reversing the cuts to affordable housing is a long awaited sign that this Government is finally taking the housing emergency seriously.
Scotland needs more social housing.
The last decades have seen the decimation of council housing, through a lack of funding, stock transfer and right to buy.
At the budget today, MSPs must vote to dedicate more funds to ending Scotland's housing emergency. pic.twitter.com/4pIzcIDthr
— Living Rent (@Living_Rent) December 4, 2024
“The last decades have seen the decimation of council housing because of a lack of funding, stock transfer and right to buy.
“Unfortunately this is only a reverse of previous cuts made to the budget. As a result, it is a cut in real-terms when the housing crisis is ever expanding.
“Sadly, £768 million, or 8,000 homes, is just a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed.
“Right now there are nearly a quarter of a million people on waiting lists in Scotland.
“This Government needs to deliver more social housing by allocating greater funding for stock buyback and for social and council house building programmes, to ensure more people have a stable, secure, affordable place to live.”
