Latest news with #McAllan
Scotsman
6 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
How McAllan can tackle our housing emergency
The new Housing Secretary needs to put in place a ten-year plan to sort problems Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... New Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan has had a busy first month and has announced she is working on a plan to address Scotland's housing emergency which she will announce when Holyrood returns in the autumn. Given that housing charity Shelter Scotland recently named John Swinney's legislative agenda a 'Programme for Homelessness' it is clear that the Scottish Government must produce some positive and effective policies. More housebuilding is required, easier and quicker planning regulations, a long-term focus on addressing social housing shortages, and a much closer working relationship with the private rented sector (PRS) to both maintain existing stock and encourage greater investment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms McAllan said she would act on stalled developments, which she calls an 'untapped area,' and said the Scottish Government is 'brokering' those issues with developers to 'unlock tens of thousands of houses'. David J Alexander is an expert in Scotland's rental sector These developments are stalled due to continued uncertainty over the Scottish Government's direction on the private rented sector. Proposals in the Scottish Housing Bill to introduce rent controls don't help despite proof from the Governments' own data showing this policy results in greater costs for tenants. The most recent statistics reveal that the Scottish Government's intervention in the PRS – through its Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Act 2022 which introduced temporary rent controls – resulted in rents rising at a faster rate in two years than they had in the preceding 12. Between 2010 and 2022 average rent rises across Scotland for one, two, three and four-bedroom properties were up £138; £182; £232; and £523 respectively. In the following two years between 2022 and 2024 average rents increased by £130; £157; £230; and £333 for one, two, three and four-bedroom properties. In cash terms rents rose in two years at almost the same level that they did over the previous 12 years. These figures highlight just how destructive the Scottish Government's intervention into the PRS was between 2022 and 2024. A major outcome of this policy has been the freezing of property investment, falling housebuilding levels, with money intended to be invested in Scotland to build more properties being transferred to other parts of the UK. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If Ms McAllan is to make an impact on the staggering levels of housing need in Scotland, then she must embrace the private rented sector. She should not interfere in the market with rent controls and should be encouraging greater investment through policies which encourage growth over the long-term through support of the PRS. Mairi McAllan 'must embrace the private rented sector' (Picture: Jeff) The new Housing Secretary needs to put in place a ten-year plan which addresses Scotland's enormous housing problems. More housebuilding, more involvement and encouragement of the PRS, more social housing and a plan that ensures there are substantially more homes available in all markets in the future. With 250,000 people on the social housing waiting list, 10,000 children in temporary housing and a private rented sector which has been experiencing unprecedented demand there is an immediate need for clarity and action. Housing policy needs the involvement of all interested parties, and a strategy that looks beyond a single electoral cycle if the housing emergency is to be tackled.
Daily Record
14-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Clydesdale MSP to hold summer surgery tour
Mairi McAllan will meet constituents at 11 different locations across the area during July Clydesdale politician Mairi McAllan is holding a 'summer surgery tour' of the constituency alongside local councillors later this month. The MSP will visit 11 locations over four days from July 28-31 and is encouraging local residents to book appointments to discuss important local matters. She will be available at locations in Carluke, Lanark and Forth on Monday, July 28; followed by Lesmahagow and Strathaven on July 29, Douglas and Rigside on July 30 and culminating in surgeries at Biggar, Abington, Carnwath and Leadhills on July 31. The MSP's office says: 'Ms McAllan will also be joined by local councillors at these surgeries to provide advice and assistance where possible on any matters arising.' Constituents are encouraged to book appointments by emailing or by calling 01555 664243. Ms McAllan also holds a weekly Monday surgery at her constituency office at St Vincent Place in Lanark, and adds: 'Constituents are welcome to get in touch any time to book an appointment for this.' * Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here. And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
The Herald Scotland
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
'Scotland's housing crisis needs a solution- and fast'
My chat with the housing secretary last week included her promise to deliver an emergency plan to tackle the crisis but now is the time for deeds, not words. For many, it's never been easy to get a house or some sort of safe roof over your head in Scotland. Some solutions to housing have been catastrophic. In the 1930s, schemes like Blackhill in Glasgow were built to house thousands displaced by slum clearances. Yet, with poor standards of living and deprivation becoming the norm in these tenements after the war, what sort of life did this offer many? When the flats were demolished to make way for the M8, not many tears were shed. Ensuring everyone has a safe, clean and appropriate place to live should be a hugely important priority for every government That's why it's so fundamental solutions are not just provided but actually work out for those affected. READ MORE: Scotland's Housing Crisis: McAllan to deliver emergency plan 'It's time John Swinney got his hard hat on to build more homes' Housing secretary feels 'personal weight' to prioritise children Solving housing has been a problem which has plagued nations across the world. In some places, certain aspects of housing are worse - a point Scotland's new housing secretary was keen to stress to me during our sit-down interview last week. 'Proportionately, the availability of social homes in Scotland is 47% higher than in England and 73% higher in Wales,' Mairi McAllan emphasised. This is correct but what is happening elsewhere should not distract from the fact that the situation is still shocking and unacceptable here. In Scotland right now, house numbers are plummeting and ten thousand children in temporary accommodation - the highest since records began. Over 250,000 stuck on social housing waiting lists and thousands are priced out of owning homes. I posed all these key issues to the cabinet secretary and she promised that she will have answers in the form of an emergency plan. What is this plan, you may ask? Well, we will have to wait until MSPs come back from their holidays after the Scottish Parliament Summer recess to find out, I'm told. In fairness to the cabinet secretary, she is just in the door when it comes to this portfolio but it's been 18 years since the SNP took power and we are still waiting for a credible solution to the housing crisis. And here's another eyebrow-raising point: When asked if this plan will include more investment, the cab sec said the capital position in Scotland is 'very difficult' at the moment and they will have to think 'creatively' when it comes to solutions. I'm not quite sure how you build more houses - which the government must do to tackle the problem - without more money. Shelter Scotland told The Herald they welcomed the pledge to deliver an emergency plan but they want to see delivery as soon as possible. Their director Alison Watson said: 'We need radical and urgent action with a clear and explicit plan which shows how we will bring the number of those experiencing homelessness down and how the Scottish Government will reach its target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032." If the Scottish Government is serious about tackling Scotland's housing crisis (declared over a year ago now), they must develop a substantial amount of good social housing. They owe that to countless families who deserve a better life.
The Herald Scotland
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland's housing crisis: Labour blast SNP for lack of housing plan
In Scotland, there are currently over ten thousand children stuck in temporary accommodation, the highest since records began, and over 250,000 people stuck on social housing waiting lists. During a sit-down interview with The Herald, Ms McAllan said she would introduce an "enhanced and expedited" plan to "step up" action to tackle the housing crisis in Scotland after the Scottish Parliament Summer recess. The newly-appointed housing secretary was not yet able to reveal what those plans were. Ms McAllan said: 'I can't tell you today exactly what my plan is, but I do intend to set out a plan as soon as I can with some enhanced and expedited action which will respond, as I see it, in an emergency fashion." Scottish Labour's housing spokesperson, Mark Griffin MSP said, following the paper's recent interview, it appeared as though the SNP did not have a plan to address the crisis. READ MORE: Scotland's Housing Crisis: McAllan to deliver emergency plan Housing secretary feels 'personal weight' to prioritise children Mr Griffin said: 'It is hugely concerning that despite the housing emergency being declared over a year ago, SNP ministers still do not appear to have any plan to tackle this crisis. 'It's clear that this SNP government is out of ideas and running out of time. After nearly two decades, we have 250,000 people on social housing waiting lists, and it is heart-breaking that over 10,000 children are stuck in temporary accommodation. 'A Scottish Labour government will turn the page on SNP failure and tackle the housing emergency once and for all by reforming planning, boosting housebuilding and delivering fair funding for local government and affordable housing.' Speaking about a timeline for a plan from the Scottish Government, Ms McAllan said parliament would need to be back so that MSPs can scrutinise any proposals. When asked if this plan will include more investment, the housing secretary said the capital position in Scotland is 'very difficult' at the moment. The expected post-Scottish Parliamentary recess plan comes as house building numbers in Scotland are plummeting, with nearly 4,000 fewer homes in supply in 2023-24 compared to the year before. Ms McAlllan said these figures are 'concerning' but insisted they do not present an 'unbridgeable gap'. The cabinet secretary said: 'The stats that we have had on the all ten year builds, they showed an 11% decrease in starts, and a four per cent decrease in completions and that is of course the wrong direction, particularly when we have such high demands but it is not insurmountable.' In 2021, the SNP set themselves a task to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. Opposition parties and the outgoing chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Association have said they will fail to meet this target. The cabinet secretary, however, said she believes they can meet this target and she intends not to rollback on it. Ms McAllan said the 'core' of action to tackle house building would be the Affordable Housing Supply Programme which the government is investing £768 million this year. The housing secretary said she is told this will translate into 8,000 affordable homes. Other levers being explored by the Scottish Government to tackle the crisis include converting temporary homes to permanent ones, attempting to "unlock" stalled housing developments and hiring more empty homes officers.
The Herald Scotland
06-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland's Housing Crisis: McAllan to deliver emergency plan
In an interview with The Herald, Ms McAllan also said she is 'unashamedly' making eradicating child poverty her top priority after taking up the portfolio last month. Her comments come as, over a year ago, a national housing emergency was declared in the Scottish Parliament. READ MORE: Plan to use student flats to house homeless approved but 'is not long-term solution' 'People will die': Housing Secretary urged to end 'political choice' of homelessness John Swinney creates new role for Mairi McAllan in cabinet reshuffle There are currently over ten thousand children stuck in temporary accommodation, the highest since records began, and over 250,000 people stuck on social housing waiting lists. Announcing her intentions to deliver a plan to tackle this, Ms McAllan told The Herald: 'I'm still working with senior officials to get the lay of the land and what now can be stepped up. 'I can't tell you today exactly what my plan is, but I do intend to set out a plan as soon as I can with some enhanced and expedited action which will respond, as I see it, in an emergency fashion." Asked about when to expect this action, the cabinet secretary said: 'Parliament needs to be back because it will need to be announced in parliament then scrutinised - but that's the timeline I'm working on because we don't have a lot of time.' The cabinet secretary said the capital position in Scotland is 'very difficult' at the moment, when asked if this plan will include more investment. Ms McAllan said: 'If there was no shortage of public money, I would want to see it put into housing. There is a shortage of public money so I have to think creatively about that because we still need more.' A Scottish Government investment taskforce is currently considering how much public money could leverage private money into the housing sector. The expected post-Scottish Parliamentary recess plan comes as house building numbers in Scotland are plummeting, with nearly 4,000 fewer homes in supply in 2023-24 compared to the year before. Ms McAlllan said these figures are 'concerning' but insisted they do not present an 'unbridgeable gap'. The cabinet secretary said: 'The stats that we have had on the all ten year builds, they showed an 11% decrease in starts, and a four per cent decrease in completions and that is of course the wrong direction, particularly when we have such high demands but it is not insurmountable.' In 2021, the SNP set themselves a task to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. Opposition parties and the outgoing chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Association have said they will fail to meet this target. The cabinet secretary, however, said she believes they can meet this target and she intends not to rollback on it. Ms McAllan said: 'These are challenging targets but I think the public expect their governments to challenge themselves. I'm absolutely not intending to roll back on any of that." Asked if the 2032 target is still credible, she said: 'I think it is. I think that it will require things to step up. It's challenging for a number of reasons, not least costs.' The cabinet secretary cited inflationary costs that have been 'bearing down' on construction since Covid as well as rising demand for housing. Housing charity Shelter Scotland recently named John Swinney's legislative agenda a 'Programme for Homelessness' as they argued it failed to provide a significant increase in plans for social home building or extra budgets or investment in housing services. The Housing Secretary accepted more action is needed but believes "real effort" from the government is currently taking place. She said: 'I think there is more that we can do but I wouldn't agree with that assessment [from Shelter Scotland] because I see real effort being made on that foundation programme of housing delivering as well as trying to look at all these labours for empty homes.' Ms McAllan said the 'core' of action to tackle house building would be the Affordable Housing Supply Programme which the government is investing £768 million this year. The housing secretary said she is told this will translate into 8,000 affordable homes. However, she admitted this is not enough to solve the crisis situation. 'Houses need to keep on being delivered but that's not enough because that will take 18 months," she said, "So I also need to understand what levers can be pulled to bring empty homes back into use to turn around social voids. 'The challenge is now so stark and there's a number of reasons for that and we just need to demonstrate that we can step up. 'We've got a Scottish election next year. I have come quite late to this brief but if I had to say what's one of things I'm focused on achieving is bringing down the number of children in temporary accommodation. I can't abide the idea that they do not have a permanent home." Earlier this week, The Herald revealed additional empty homes officers are being recruited to bring more privately owned houses back into use as part of a £2 million fund. Stalled developments is also an 'untapped area', according to Ms McAllan, and she said the government is 'brokering' those issues with developers to 'unlock tens and thousands of houses'. An area the cabinet secretary also wants to focus on is supporting people to buy their first home as thousands of people are currently priced out of the market due to bidding wars, rising costs, a lack of government support and demand outstripping supply. Ms McAllan said she is considering introducing schemes to help first time buyers but could not give details on what this would look like or when this would be introduced. 'I'm looking at all of that." the cabinet secretary said, "It's incredibly difficult and yet it means so much in terms of financial security in somebody's life so I want to help bridge that gap and I want to be fleet of foot on that as well.' Ms McAllan also said the Lands Building and Transaction Tax, described as a 'highly economically damaging tax' by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, could be an 'important tool' for first time buyers if 'carefully handled'. Anas Sarwar claimed the planning system is holding back the Scottish economy. (Image: PA) The housing secretary also said she is looking into the practice of 'flipping' - taking accommodation labelled as temporary and making it permanent. 'It's worth saying that a lot of the families in temporary accommodation just now, it's not necessarily unsuitable," she said, "A lot of it will be council or social housing but by the very nature of being temporary, it's not acceptable so that will be something that I'm really focused on. 'We've also got the Housing Bill going through just now so I'm challenging my team to say we've got the opportunity of primary legislation here. 'I don't want to get to the other side of this bill and be told we needed primary legislative power for other measures we wanted to put in place.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar recently claimed the planning system is holding back the Scottish economy as he pointed to development applications taking 58 weeks on average to be processed in Glasgow but only 18 weeks in Manchester. READ MORE: Responding to his comments, Ms McAllan said she understands how planning can be both an 'enabler and inhibitor of action'. 'I want it to be an enabler and my colleagues and I are doing a lot of work on planning reform and looking at support needed for local authorities to clear backlogs', Ms McAllan said, adding that she does not think it is appropriate for the Scottish Government to 'go over the head of local authorities' when it comes to planning application decisions. Working alongside her colleague and public finance minister Ivan McKee, the cabinet secretary said they are developing a plan to provide more support to local authorities to help them move through planning applications more quickly. The Scottish Government has invested £40 million this year into supporting councils to acquire homes in order to get people out of temporary accommodation. The cabinet secretary hopes this will free up 1,000 homes in Scotland this year alone. Ms McAllan said she is 'proud' of the government's record on housing. She said: 'We have consistently invested highly in affordable homes in Scotland to the point now where proportionately the availability of social homes in Scotland is 47% higher in England and 73% higher in Wales. 'But the situation that we are in just now is extremely strained."
