SNP CUTS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE BORDERS

3.39.30pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 14th Jun 2008

Jim Hume, Liberal Democrat MSP for the South of Scotland, and Jeremy Purvis, Liberal Democrat MSP for Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale, have today condemned the SNP's failure to address fully the affordable housing shortage in the Borders.

Jim Hume said:-

"The Liberal Democrats see housing as a basic human right and believe that it is incumbent on the Scottish Government to build environmentally sustainable homes, which produce cleaner and safer communities.

"The SNP's Budget included a 6% cent real terms cut to spending on affordable housing in the first year. Additional spending on affordable housing supply is, at best, less than 20% of what is needed. I am extremely concerned that the current housing budget will fail to provide enough affordable homes to rent in the run up to the 2012 deadline for abolishing all unintentional homelessness in Scotland.

The MSP continued:-

"What this means in real terms for the Scottish Borders is a 22% cut in the Housing Association Grant from £7.2 to £5.6million for the forthcoming year, HAG funding being critical element in achieving affordable housing through registered social landlords.

"The SNP are failing on affordable housing in the Borders."

Jeremy Purvis commented:-

"The cut will be a hammer blow to the progress that we had started to see in recent years. We know that there remains a shortfall in affordable housing need and such a cut, predicated on assuming increased rents for Borders tenants by the Government, is extremely bad news.

"I have campaigned to gain additional support for affordable housing, and together with local housing agencies have seen successes. Indeed the most recent was the development in Galashiels, funded by the previous government, but opened by the new minister last year. It will be extremely upsetting to everyone in the local housing sector who has been working so hard to see the improvements in previous years with increased support from the former Scottish Government."