Dramatic drop in housebuilding exposes SNP’s mistakes

Scottish Liberal Democrats today said the SNP’s cut to the housing budget has made the housing crisis worse after new statistics revealed dramatic falls in the number of housebuilding completions and starts.

Official figures show that in the year ending December 2024, during which the Scottish Government cut the housing budget:

• There was a 9% decrease in all sector housebuilding starts;
• In the private sector, housebuilding starts were the lowest in more than a decade;
• In the social sector, housebuilding completions fell 22% in a single year;
• Affordable housing supply approvals were 48% lower than the most recent peak of approvals in 2018, while starts were 41% lower than their peak in 2019 and completions were 20% lower than their peak in 2022.

Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Paul McGarry said:

“It was a huge mistake by the SNP to axe funding for affordable homes in the middle of a housing crisis. John Swinney, Kate Forbes and Patrick Harvie all voted to cut £200m from housing.

“We can now see how affordable housebuilding has collapsed even though homelessness is at a record high and waiting lists are endless.

“That is why it was right that Scottish Liberal Democrats got the government to significantly increase funding in this year’s budget, but now it’s down to them to deliver and turn this around.

“The Scottish Government must also listen to our calls to bring thousands of empty homes back into use and re-establish social rent as a viable, long-term option.”