John Swinney urged by campaigners to wipe out Humza Yousaf's £200m housing cuts

A powerful coalition has demanded incoming first minister John Swinney u-turn on the Government’s damaging housing cuts.

Charities and anti-poverty groups said reversing the £200m cut must be the priority after Swinney was voted in as Scotland’s new leader.

Swinney will be formally sworn in today as Humza Yousaf’s successor, but he is immediately facing calls to sort out the country’s housing crisis.

Councils have been declaring a housing emergency over shortages and around 10,000 children are in temporary accommodation.

Yousaf sparked fury by slashing £200m from the affordable housing budget - then partially offsetting it - and campaigners want Swinney to wipe out the cut.

STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer: “Scotland is in the grip of a housing emergency which is wreaking havoc on the life chances of workers throughout the country.

“It’s beggars’ belief that, with skyrocketing private sector rents coupled with stagnating wages, the Scottish Government have stood by the inexcusable £200 million cut to the housing budget.

“As the new First Minister takes office, with laudable aims to reduce child poverty, he must face reality that this cannot ever be achieved if councils simply do not have the resources to house and keep their residents safe.”

Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said: “The decision to slash funding for social homes in the middle of a housing emergency provoked widespread dismay across the country. “People were understandably outraged that while 10,000 children have nowhere to call home, delivering housing was not a priority for the Scottish Government.

“Restoring the housing budget would be a welcome first step, but that alone will not be enough.

“Those suffering at the sharpest end of the housing emergency need to have their voices heard at the heard in government; that means housing must have a dedicated seat at the table when John Swinney appoints his new cabinet.

“The new First Minister can show he’s serious about building a better Scotland by declaring a national housing emergency, and setting out an urgent action plan to end it.”

Aditi Jehangir, Chair of Living Rent, said: "Now he has been elected, the new First Minister needs to reverse the £200m in cuts to affordable housing and reaffirm his commitment to introducing the Housing Bill as soon as possible.

"One after another, councils have declared housing emergencies as they simply can’t fulfil their statutory duties to house homeless people. Rents are at record level as the regulations are still too easy on landlords.

"We all deserve the security and safety that comes with having a stable, affordable home. The new government needs to be prioritising this at every stage: from providing funding to supporting the completion of homes to introducing rent controls through the Housing Bill."

Carolyn Lochhead of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations said: “Resolving Scotland’s housing emergency must be an absolute priority for the First Minister and that should start by immediately reversing the recent hammer-blow cuts to the housebuilding budget.

“The First Minister takes office amid record homelessness, with up to 10,000 children in Scotland living in temporary accommodation.

“Social homes are a proven route out of poverty, so the First Minister can now take decisive action to achieve his ‘principal objective’ of eradicating child poverty by prioritising investment to deliver the affordable rented homes we desperately need.”

John Dickie of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said: “There is no credible route to eradicating child poverty in Scotland that does not involve boosting the value of the Scottish child payment as well as restoring investment in affordable housing . Inadequate social security and high housing costs are both driving up child poverty.

“The new First Minister must now demonstrate he is serious when he very encouragingly says that child poverty is his number one priority.”

Jane Wood, Chief Executive of sector body Homes for Scotland, said:

“With the housing crisis intensifying across the country, impacting both social and economic outcomes, there is a pressing need for dedicated, single-issue leadership at Cabinet level in order to reflect both the urgency of the situation and the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensuring that we have the range of homes that Scotland requires for its future wellbeing and success.

“Homes for Scotland and its members stand ready to work positively and constructively with the new administration to achieve this.”

Swinney received Holyrood’s backing to become First Minister after a turbulent ten days in Scottish politics.

The former deputy first minister, who was SNP leader between 2000 and 2004, will lead a minority government after Yousaf’s botched decision to dump the Greens.

He is expected to pull his Cabinet together today, with senior MSP Kate Forbes in line for a top job.

Addressing MSPs, the new SNP leader said his top priority will be tackling child poverty and he extended an olive branch to the opposition parties:

“I am leading a minority government. I will need to reach out to others to make things happen to pass legislation, to agree a budget.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said:

“Scotland has delivered more than 128,000 affordable homes since April 2007, over 90,000 of which were for social rent. We will invest nearly £600 million in affordable housing in 2024-25, the majority of which will be for social rent. This includes up to an additional £40 million in 2024-25 and an equivalent commitment in 2025-26 to increase affordable housing supply and help reduce homelessness.

“We remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 and to support that we have brought forward a review to this year, which will concentrate on deliverability. We are also working with the financial community in Scotland, and elsewhere, to boost private sector investment and help deliver more homes.”

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