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Housing Statistics for Scotland
26/08/2010
Updated housing statistics have been released today by Scotland's Chief Statistician.
Published online, the Housing Statistics for Scotland web pages include comprehensive time series data to allow in-depth analyses of housing activity in Scotland up to 2009-10 (for annual data), June 30, 2010 (for social sector new build and affordable housing quarterly series) or 31 March 31, 2010 for other quarterly series. The web tables are accompanied by the publication of a key trends summary.
The main points to emerge are as follows:
- New housing supply: new housing supply (new build, refurbishment and conversions) decreased by 16 per cent between 2008-09 and 2009-10, from 22,368 to 18,836 units. This was driven by a decrease in private completions. However, despite the overall fall, both housing association and local authority new build figures increased from the previous year. These data are the basis for National Indicator number 32 in the Scottish Government's 2007 Spending Review. This indicator is also presented on the Scotland Performs website which provides the latest information on how Scotland is performing on a range of topics affecting all aspects of Scottish life.
- New house building: In 2009-10, there were 17,474 completions in Scotland, a decrease of 17 per cent on the previous year. Starts also fell, by 22 per cent from 19,593 in 2008-09 to 15,372 in 2009-10. The overall fall was driven by a large decrease in private sector building. However a new wave of local authority house building has begun with 624 starts in the year to June 2010 compared with 337 the previous year (an 85 per cent increase).
- Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AHIP): In 2009-10 there were 8,092 units completed through all AHIP activity - this figure is up 30 per cent on the previous financial year and is the highest recorded since the programme began a decade ago.
- In the year to end June 2010 there was a 2 per cent increase in AHIP completions (to 7,274) compared with the previous year.
- Sales of public authority dwellings: Sales of public authority dwellings fell by 46 per cent in 2009-10, from 3,678 to 1,992. This continues the declining trend in sales observed over recent years since the introduction of the modernised Right to Buy, which came into effect on 30 September 2002.
- Percentage of lets to homeless people: This is one of the key indicators in measuring local authorities' capacity to respond to the 2012 target for the removal of the priority need test in homelessness legislation. Lets to homeless households represented 43 per cent of all local authority lets in 2009-10, compared to 45 per cent the previous year. The current position represents a substantial increase compared to the situation at the start of the 2000s (17 per cent in 2001-02).