NewsArticle-08-10-2008

The Scottish home building industry has welcomed today’s interest rate cut and the package of measures announced to stabilise the banking system.

Jonathan Fair, Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland, the organisation which represents companies building 95% of the country’s new homes, said:

"At last, the UK Treasury and Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee are wakening up to the scale of the crisis triggered by the credit crunch. With home building a key economic driver in Scotland, the hope is that banks will quickly pass on the fall in interest rates to home buyers and rapidly reinstate mortgage lending levels. All of this, in the fullness of time, will help to restore consumer confidence.”

Ends

Enquiries to:

Beth Hocking, Homes for Scotland – 0131 455 8350 / 07946 421521
Jennifer Kennedy, Homes for Scotland – 0131 455 8350 / 07763 240694

Note to Editors:

Homes for Scotland represents the country’s home building industry which:
- is the largest source of private investment in Scotland
- is the largest user of the planning system in Scotland
- last year built 20,000 new homes, contributed £6bn to the economy and directly impacted the employment of 100,000 people