The Scottish home building industry has welcomed the importance being attached to home ownership by the Scottish Labour Party following its pledge to help First Time Buyers (FTBs) into home ownership through a £3,000 savings boost.

Philip Hogg, Chief Executive of industry body Homes for Scotland (right) said:

“This plan is a positive signal that the Scottish Labour Party recognises the need for an all tenure approach to tackle our country’s housing crisis and helps widen the debate beyond what has been an increasing and narrow focus on “affordable” homes.  

“Indeed, with research confirming that the majority of Scots aspire to be home owners, such an approach is vital if we are to meet the diverse needs of all those living in Scotland.  We therefore welcome Kezia Dugdale’s comment that home ownership should be open to all who work for it.

“But whilst this may provide a much-needed boost for FTBs looking to get onto the housing ladder, the fact remains that the number of new homes being built is still 40% down on 2007 levels.  We are simply not building enough to house our growing population so any savings initiatives must be matched by those which stimulate production such as the popular Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme.  This is essential if we are to meet increasing demand and provide the range of quality options required.

“That is why we are calling on the next Scottish Government to manage a return to pre-recession levels of building which would mean at least 100,000 new homes by the end of the next parliamentary term.  We will therefore be carefully scrutinising all parties’ policies to gauge whether these would sufficiently support the development industry to build the many thousands of homes which are desperately required the length and breadth of the country.

“With the First Minister taking the opportunity today to set out her plans to grow Scotland’s economy, the wide-ranging social and economic benefits provided by housing will have an intrinsic role to play in meeting these objectives.”