By Professor John Robertson, OBA
The Herald today above.
The facts:
For 2025, the SNP Government has funded 5 313 new affordable home starts to a level down from a peak of 11 158 in 2021 but above the level before 2014 and still almost twice that of the last Labour government in Scotland, only 3 100.
AND:
According to the latest official statistics from the Scottish Government, as reported in the Quarterly Housing Statistics update to June 2025, Scotland has delivered a total of 140,346 affordable homes since 2007. This includes 100,064 homes for social rent, with the rest for other affordable rent and ownership options. These figures reflect government-supported completions through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and other initiatives, marking progress toward the current target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 (of which 29,680 have been completed so far). The data shows Scotland leading the UK in affordable housing delivery per head of population since 2007, with over 40% more than England and 70% more than Wales.
See that 140 346 above?
The Herald has this:
So, target exceeded already?
Sources:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/quarterly-housing-statistics-september-2025/documents/
Scottish Government Housing Statistics (New Housebuilding and AHSP Tables, historical series from 2000–2025)
https://www.gov.scot/collections/housing-statistics/
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Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Would this level of misrepresentation be a matter for the Press Complaints Commission? Surely they can’t just blatantly lie like this?
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FANTASTIC.
PITY ENGLAND ARE LAGGING BEHIND
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What about this one. Labour ban Journalists
North Durham Labour MP Luke Akehurst has now claimed Jones should never have been given a pass because of his “anti-Labour political agenda”.
I wonder how Sarwar and Torries would react if at the SNP conference was to ban BBC Scotland SNP hating journalists like Glen the mouth Campbell…..Just a thought.
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Labour are now and have been for sometime, a right wing outfit posing as socialist left wing. Thatcher ensured that scenario…hope she’s rotting in hell.
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I was sent an email newsletter from a disability charity I have known for years, and I am intrigued at this…seems connected to ‘Poverty Alliance’ I think a Glasgow charity.
This ‘Scotland demands better’ is a charity though no info is available about who runs it, how and when it started and whether registered with Scot charity commission…
I don’t know why but I smell something a bit rancid…has undertones of SNp very very bad and the LabCons’ ‘better together’ con. I could be wrong, just a hunch, but…take a look see what you think, because these ‘charities’ can have a big influence on how people perceive stuff re Scotland and the Scottish governments’ policies. A demo is planned for later this month outside Holyrood.
http://www.scotland-demands-better.com
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O/T From the Scottish Business section of the BBC News website (October 1): ‘Tech projects to receive share of government fund’.
We’re told: ‘ScotlandIS’ Future Ready programme, which provides business support and learning resources for tech businesses across the country, and Game Space in Dundee, who support those working in the country’s gaming industry, are among the recipients of funding from the UK government’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology’s (DSIT’s) Regional Tech programme.’
The BBC understands the two Scottish projects will each receive £30,000: the DSIT has told the BBC the money will support at least 30 businesses in Scotland.
By my calculation, £60k between ‘at least 30 businesses’ in Scotland amounts to support outputs worth no more than £2k per business, not taking account of the funds that will be used to meet the overhead costs of ScotlandIS and Game Space, the support delivery organisations. The DSIT’s own account notes the support programme will last (just) six months.
Excellent news: like me, you’re no doubt delighted BBC Scotland found time and space to showcase this generous UK government support for businesses in Scotland!
The BBC piece also reports: ‘A spokesperson from DSIT told BBC News the money for ScotlandIS will provide targeted support and the creation of peer-led support networks for tech entrepreneurs and micro-businesses in rural areas, particularly in the Highlands and Islands. Game Space, meanwhile, will deliver a support programme for early-stage Scottish games startups including workshops and help to attract investment.’ (my emphasis)
Meanwhile, do you know the Scottish Government today announced an additional £2.95 million to support university-derived start-up companies (part of its Proof of Concept Fund). The projects receiving support includes one from Dundee involving gamification and AI technology: ‘LayawayGo’ will receive financial support from the Scottish Government not worth £2,000 but £122,000. I wonder if we’ll see this – or better still, the whole funding package of £2.95 million – profiled on the Scottish Business section of the BBC News website soon?
For completeness, BBC Scotland could add in a profile of the Scottish Government funded Techscaler programme aimed at creating, developing and scaling tech startups (see https://www.techscaler.co.uk ). Launched in November 2022, the Scottish Government is investing £42 million in the programme.
And the BBC Scotland business journalists could for good measure add in relevant information on other start-up company support measures funded by the Scottish Government via Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise. They might even consider profiling new and young company support funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by local authorities via Business Gateway while they’re at it.
And back to ScotlandIS, the ‘About us’ section of its website has this: ‘ScotlandIS works closely with Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland to underline the importance of the digital technologies industry to the Scottish economy.’
For BBC Scotland, might this sort of coverage of what the present Scottish Government actually does be viewed as ‘unhelpful’ given the upcoming Holyrood election, making the SNP appear to the electorate to be far too business-friendly?
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Sent from my iPad
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