Another False Dawn for social housing!

The SNP Government announcement that Edinburgh will get £36m for Housing Associations Grants (HAG) to build social housing is even worse that I thought yesterday.

If this total is the same as last year it means in real terms a cut because construction inflation is still rising despite the credit crunch. Yet the SNP/Libdem administration have announced this as a “good result” for Edinburgh as it makes Edinburgh and Glasgow the only authorities to receive the same cash total as last year, all others getting much less!

I am told that the assumption is that Housing Associations will have to make 25% efficiencies to produce the same number of houses for this cash and borrow on a market that is decidedly shaky The only way they will make the sums add up is to put up rents. The cuts to the HAG have been redirected to the shared equity schemes to make up for the SNP broken promise of £2000 for first time buyers so in reality it will be those renting social housing who will be paying for others to be able to buy..

Standing up for Edinburgh apparently means being pleased when others get hammered but we are just cut the rate of inflation, the poor get screwed and not a peep about another broken promise. Not good benchmarks of success in my book...