Professor John Robertson OBA

According to the Herald today:

A new report published today by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has calculated that £8.2bn would be needed to build the required number of homes to address the crisis. Yet it states ministers have only set aside £4.9bn failing to take account of the number of homes needed, the impact on inflation on building costs and new cost relating to standards it is introducing for the sector. The report comes just weeks after Ms McAllan, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing, has announced a four-year £4.9bn plan for the affordable housing budget – made up of a combination of public and private money.

SFHA’s policy lead Eli Harji, who authored the report, said Scotland faced a perfect storm in dealing with the housing emergency. She said: “The Scottish Government’s commitment to a four-year £4.9billion investment in housing is a step in the right direction, particularly as it’s a longer-term budget, but not only is this still short of what’s required, we still don’t know how much of this commitment is public money.

So, £1.225 billion per year? To match it , per head, pro rata, it would need to be £12.25 billion. Keep that in mind.

How does it compare with the UK Labour Government’s pledge for affordable housing?

From Hundreds of thousands to get secure roof over their heads published in July 2025:

As of October 2025, the UK government (under the Labour administration) has made several pledges for affordable and social housing, with the most significant being a major long-term commitment announced in the June 2025 Spending Review. This addresses the ongoing housing crisis, where over 1.3 million people are on social housing waiting lists and 165,000 children live in temporary accommodation. The pledges focus on increasing supply, improving quality and safety, and supporting the broader target of building 1.5 million homes over the parliamentary term. – £39 billion over 10 years (2025–2035), averaging £3.9 billion annually.

https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=1980620607403270212

So, to match the Scottish Government’s £1.225 bn per year pledge, per head, the UK Government, with 10 times the population, would need to pledge £12.25 bn per year but has only pledged £3.9 bn per year, just over a third.

Scotland already has 115 affordable homes per 1 000 people compared to England’s 70, pushing twice as many per head.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-2024-key-trends-summary/ https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/registered-provider-social-housing-stock-and-rents-in-england-2023-to-2024

So, despite already having far more affordable homes, Scotland plans to build more than three times as many new ones!

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