Scottish Government Establishes New Housing Agency to Address Supply Crisis
In a significant move to confront Scotland's declared housing emergency, First Minister John Swinney has announced the creation of a new national housebuilding agency. The body, to be named More Homes Scotland, represents a strategic intervention designed to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes across the nation, with particular emphasis on rural and island communities.
A Strategic Response to a National Challenge
Speaking ahead of a visit to a construction site in East Lothian, Mr Swinney outlined the pressing need for the initiative. "Since 2007, the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of 141,000 affordable homes in Scotland, including 101,000 for social rent – proportionately far more than other parts of the UK," he stated. "However, Scotland is facing a housing emergency. We recognise the difficulty that many Scots – in particular young Scots – have finding a home they can afford to rent or buy."
The First Minister positioned the new agency as a central component of a broader commitment to public sector modernisation, promising it would bring simplicity, scale and speed to housing delivery. The core objective is to maximise the impact of substantial government investment by removing systemic barriers and fostering greater collaboration.
Focus and Function of More Homes Scotland
More Homes Scotland will not be a direct builder of homes. Instead, it will function as an enabling agency, working to unblock stalled projects and streamline processes. Its primary areas of focus will be:
- Large-scale affordable housing proposals to increase the pace of supply.
- Rural and island housing developments, addressing specific geographic challenges.
- The acquisition of land and provision of necessary infrastructure for sites that have stalled.
Mr Swinney clarified the agency's role to the Press Association, explaining, "This will be an enabling agency which will work with local authority partners and housing associations around the country and individual developers to make sure that we remove obstacles and barriers." He emphasised that the goal is to ensure the Scottish Government's investment of over £900 million in the next financial year is deployed as quickly and effectively as possible.
Partnership and Investment at the Core
The design of the new body will be a collaborative effort led by Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan, involving local councils and the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB). A key function of the agency will be to leverage the bank's expertise to attract additional private commercial investment into the housing sector.
David Ritchie, Chief Executive of the Scottish National Investment Bank, welcomed the announcement. "The bank has invested more than £130 million in housing to date, with a robust pipeline of more potential housing investments," he said. "We welcome More Homes Scotland being established to bring momentum in finding housing solutions. As a mission-led investor, our 'Place' mission is focused on improving communities, and a good home is a key tenet of that."
Operational Timeline and Planning Considerations
The Scottish Government has confirmed that an update on the agency's development will be presented to the Scottish Parliament in March. The ambition is for More Homes Scotland to be fully operational by the 2028-29 financial year.
While the agency itself will not hold planning powers, it will work closely with local authorities on planning matters. The First Minister stressed the ongoing need to ensure the planning system operates with efficiency to facilitate new home construction. "We've got to be constantly looking at the planning system... to use the resources available to us to speed up the system," he added.
This new institutional approach aims to reduce duplication, pool expertise, and create greater efficiencies, ultimately striving to deliver more homes more quickly and affordably within climate-friendly communities for a new generation of Scots.
