THE First Minister has announced a nearly £600 million investment in affordable housing as part of his first Programme for Government.
In a speech which focused on measures seeking to eradicate child poverty, Swinney also announced that the Scottish Government would be investing nearly £600m in affordable housing.
That includes £40m to make some existing housing affordable and £100m to build around 2800 mid-market rental homes.
Plans for rent controls are also set to progress as part of the Housing Bill, Swinney announced.
He said: "Having a warm, safe, place to call home is the foundation of family life and a direct contributor to tackling poverty.
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"Our approach to tackling the housing emergency will increase the right mix of housing supply, in the right place – ensuring families have secure and affordable homes that meet their needs and helping boost economic growth."
He then listed the measures seeking to improve housing availability in Scotland.
"Investing nearly £600 million in affordable housing in 2024‑25. The majority of this will be directed at boosting social housing supply – keeping rents lower and benefitting around 140,000 children in poverty each year," he said.
"This includes up to £40 million to bring existing homes into affordable use through acquisitions, and where appropriate also bring long term voids back into effective use.
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"Committing £100 million to grow with institutional investment to at least £500 million, supporting the construction of around 2,800 mid‑market rent homes.
"Providing £2 million in additional support to local authorities facing the most significant and sustained temporary accommodation pressures to maximise the use of existing housing stock and minimise turnaround times for vacant social homes."
Elsewhere, the First Minister said that Creative Scotland would be provided with the resources to continue the work of its Open Fund after the body said it would be closed to new applicants due to concerns about funding.
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