Responding to today’s Programme for Government announcement by the First Minister, Homes for Scotland Chief Executive Philip Hogg (right) said:

“A ‘root and branch review’ of the planning system is much needed if we are to be able to build the many thousands of homes Scotland requires so this is very welcome news, particularly given the focus on increasing delivery of high quality housing developments.

“Given the significant impact of the current Help to Buy (Scotland) shared equity scheme with regards employment, investment and wider community benefits as well as boosting housing completions, we are also encouraged by the commitment of £195m to support a successor scheme over the next three years.

“Whilst the new scheme has a smaller budget in comparison to the £305m for Help to Buy (Scotland), we hope it will help provide further confidence to both consumers and builders but await further detail on criteria and accessibility before being able to assess its likely impact.”