'Homes are at the heart of our government'

Having a safe, warm and affordable place to call home is central to a life of dignity and opportunity, and a life of dignity and opportunity is something to which we are all entitled. As Scotland’s new Cabinet Secretary for Housing, I will make it my priority to ensure this is a reality for people in Scotland.

On 11 June, I kissed my 10-month-old son goodbye and returned from my period of maternity leave from government. Within hours I was appointed Scotland’s first Cabinet Secretary for Housing. By elevating housing as a standalone issue to cabinet for the first time, the first minister is placing housing and the challenge of homelessness at the heart of his government. Home is where the heart is, and now homes are at the heart of our government.

The first minister’s decision is instructive. It is abundantly clear how central housing policy is to addressing our core mission of eradicating child poverty in Scotland. Done well, it can also deliver against the first minister’s other core missions of growing our economy and achieving net zero – we know the right housing policy can be an important economic stimulus and contribute significantly to Scotland’s climate action.

Whilst hugely honoured to hold the position, I am in no doubt about the scale of the task ahead. There are unprecedented pressures in demand for, and supply of, housing in Scotland. All the while, households are under sustained financial pressures after years of austerity and inflationary pressures culminating in severe cost of living challenges. 

And although Scotland has some of the most progressive – and protective – homelessness legislation in the UK, this is straining under the significant weight of the challenge.

This situation is reflected across the UK. In England, 127,890 households were in temporary accommodation on 31 December 2024, up 13.6 per cent from the same time last year. In Wales, 6,495 households were in temporary accommodation on 30 September 2024, the highest figure since 2015. In Northern Ireland, there were 5,220 households in temporary accommodation on 9 May 2025, up from 4,784 households on 29 April 2024. I am in no doubt – we are in a housing emergency and tackling it will be my top priority. 

Tackling homelessness, and particularly the number of children spending long periods in temporary accommodation, is my biggest and most pressing concern. While our action has helped around 2,700 households with children into affordable housing in the year to December 2024, and our most recent statistics show that 20 councils have reduced the number of children in temporary accommodation, I am determined we go further with clear and demonstrable action.

We need homes to end homelessness. We have a strong track record in delivering affordable housing in Scotland, with the latest statistics showing that from 2007 up to March 2025 more than 139,000 affordable homes have been delivered, with 99,000 of those for social rent. We are investing £768m in affordable housing in 2025-26, the majority of which will be for social rent.

While this work is ongoing, to offer relief sooner, in April 2024, we launched an £80m fund to support acquisitions of existing properties and help bring void homes back into use. With 80 per cent directed to the five local authorities facing the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures, this is already making a difference. Edinburgh council’s management information shows void levels have been cut by over 50 per cent since June 2023. We can’t have homes lying empty while children are in temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government’s investment over many years has resulted in the delivery of affordable housing in Scotland being, proportionately, 47 per cent higher than in England, and 73 per cent higher than Wales. However, the need for more homes, against a backdrop of severe UK funding cuts, means that stepping up activity to leverage private investment in housing is vital. We have engaged intensively with investors through the work of our Housing Investment Taskforce and are now focused on long-term plans for implementing their recommendations to unlock new investment opportunities across all tenures of housing.  

While we work to deliver more homes, we must also work to prevent homelessness in the first place. Prevention measures, which I will lead through parliament in the Housing (Scotland) Bill, are seen by many as a game-changer. We have complemented this with an additional £4m for our Ending Homelessness Together budget for 2025/26. This is to help local authorities, frontline services and relevant partners prepare for the new measures to prevent homelessness before it occurs.  

I am working closely with the planning minister to ensure the planning system is enabling, and not inhibiting, all we need to achieve. 

We have set out a package of measures that includes working to overcome barriers to housing sites stalling. 

This includes establishing a National Planning Hub to provide additional capacity and speed up decision making. We are working to make the process more efficient, including streamlining compulsory purchases and implementing Masterplan Consent Areas, a mechanism that aligns different consents upfront.   

These are examples of just some of what I’m clear must be done. In all of this, I will make no apology for being guided by my strong political determination to protect children from the scourge of poverty, and to protect women and children from domestic abuse. 

These convictions will help shape my approach to an emergency situation that requires an emergency response.