To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding any further allocation from its budget, including for house building. (S6O-03557)

Throughout the budget process, I confirmed my intention to prioritise affordable housing if the United Kingdom spring budget delivered more consequentials. Unfortunately, the UK Government once again let Scotland down and our capital budget is expected to reduce cumulatively by more than £1.3 billion by 2027-28.

Despite that, in April, we announced an additional £80 million investment over two years for the acquisition of properties to be brought into use for affordable housing to help to reduce homelessness. We will shortly be discussing the allocation of the additional £40 million for 2024-25 with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, which brings this Government’s investment towards the delivery of affordable homes to nearly £600 million in 2024-25.

In May, the City of Edinburgh Council said that it would not be able to deliver more Government grant-funded affordable homes due to cuts to the affordable housing supply programme, which has meant that the council housing budget is 24 per cent smaller. Now that the Scottish Government has heeded Labour’s call to declare a housing emergency, does the cabinet secretary agree that that should be met with action, including the restoration of that money to local authorities to build affordable housing?

We have a good track record, having led the UK by delivering more than 128,000 affordable homes since 2007, with more than 90,000 for social rent. That is higher than anywhere else in these islands.

We acknowledge that these are exceptionally challenging times. That is why we agree that there is a national housing emergency, and why we continue to call on the UK Government to reverse the almost 9 per cent cut to Scotland’s capital budget. If there is a cut to the capital budget and a 60-plus per cent cut to financial transactions, which underpin the affordable housing supply programme, that will have an impact.

In the autumn budget that will follow the general election, we need a reversal of that capital cut and a restoration of financial transaction funding.

There are a number of supplementaries. I will try to get them all in, but they will need to be brief, as will the responses.

In the context of the real-terms cut to the Scottish Government’s capital budget and its impressive record of affordable house building—with more being built per head of population than elsewhere in the UK—on the £600 million that has been allocated this financial year, a prioritisation for Edinburgh would make a big difference, especially in Granton, in my constituency, where the local authority has been able to purchase land. I would be grateful for the cabinet secretary’s continued engagement in the realisation of the potential for building affordable housing in Granton.

As I said to Mr Choudhury, officials are working to consider the allocation of the £40 million this year. Local authorities will direct the affordable housing supply programme investment to the priorities that they have identified in their strategic housing investment plans. We know that, in 2023-24, £7.5 million from the affordable housing supply programme was invested in Granton to support the eventual delivery of more than 400 affordable homes. That is absolutely a priority project for the city of Edinburgh, which we want to support.

Something else that would help local government with housing would be for the Scottish Government to meet its promise to have multiyear funding in budgets. Are we any closer to getting that?

If the Scottish Government got multiyear funding in our budgets, we would be able to agree multiyear funding settlements for local government, the third sector and others. However, that is very difficult when we have had only single-year budgets set, because we do not have the certainty to provide a multiyear funding settlement. We will take that up with the UK Government post the general election.

When considering funding for house building, in addition to engaging with local authorities, what engagement does the Scottish Government have with renewable community benefit and business organisations such as Salmon Scotland that express interest in investing in housing in rural areas?

It is important that we look at all the options available to us, which is why the Minister for Housing has convened the housing investment task force. We need to look beyond traditional capital, particularly if the capital cut is not restored. We are keen to look at all vehicles that we can use, working with organisations such as the one that Beatrice Wishart mentioned and other housing stakeholders to lever in as much housing investment as possible.