Kate Forbes’ chance to help resolve national housing crisis - Susan Dalgety

The city’s housing boss, Cllr Jane Meagher, lays the blame firmly at the door of the government, after it cut £200 million from Scotland’s housing budget a few months ago. In a plea to the new First Minister, John Swinney, she begged him to think about what is best for the benefit of the country. “Consider the economic advantages of a house building programme,” she said. “Consider the social advantage of a house building programme. And think about how that in itself invigorates the whole Scottish economy and think about that as a priority.”

Perhaps she should address her pleas to the new Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, instead. She has just been handed the economic brief in Swinney’s new cabinet, and will have a huge influence on the SNP’s programme for government and its budget plans.

During the 2023 leadership contest, when Forbes was narrowly beaten by Humza Yousaf, she said if she was elected as First Minister she would set up a new national housing body with the sole task of creating thousands of homes for rent and to buy. It would also act as “an agent for expanding construction skills apprenticeships to tackle skills shortages,” she said.

She went on, “A secure, comfortable and low energy home needs to be accessible to all in a future Scotland, we have the people, the materials, the land, we just need the vision, will and organisation.”

Kate Forbes may not have got the top job – yet – but she is now in a position of real power and can make her dream of a national housing body come true. She, like Cllr Meagher, clearly understands the economic and social transformation that a national house building programme could bring. She is also, by all accounts, very good at working across party lines, and with the UK government.

She now has the chance to transform our cities and our rural communities with a long term plan to rebuild Scotland. Let’s hope she’s up to the task.