A slump in Scottish housebuilding figures over the past year has been described as a “shocking failure” to address the housing emergency across the country.

Official government figures show that despite promises by ministers to speed up housing supply there was a 9% slump in housebuilding starts (15,050) and 7% decrease in completions (19,797) in the year to the end of December, against the previous 12 months.

Excluding 2020 (where Covid-19 impacted housebuilding) private sector led completions were the lowest since the year to end of December 2017 and starts the lowest since the year to end of December 2013.

In the social sector completions were the lowest since the year to the end of December 2017 and starts were slightly higher than the previous year.

Housing Minister Paul McLennan claimed the figures showed the government had “a strong track record in delivering affordable housing in Scotland”.

He added: “It is encouraging that affordable housing starts and approvals have increased in the last year to date, and we will continue to work with partners to increase these levels even further through our £768 million investment in 2025-26, which is an increase of £200 million when compared to this financial year.

“We will also invest £2 million into bringing more privately-owned empty homes back into use.

“We are also focused on working with partner organisations, through our Housing Planning Hub, to identify how our planning system can help to provide solutions. This decisive and properly targeted action, based on evidence, will provide more homes and better places for people to live in.”

Opposition parties disagreed with Mr McLennan’s reading of the data. Conservative housing spokesperson Meghan Gallacher said: “These shocking statistics confirm SNP ministers have been asleep at the wheel while Scotland remains in the grip of a housing emergency.

“They delivered savage cuts of nearly £200 million to the housing budget which unsurprisingly has had a devastating effect on the number of homes being built.

“Their reckless rent caps, which only the Scottish Conservatives opposed at Holyrood, also helped to create an environment that drove away investment in the housebuilding sector.

“SNP ministers only answer to the crisis they are responsible for is a housing bill that makes no mention of building new homes.

“If they continue with their failed approach, then the number of people left homeless will only continue to soar and they will be miles off meeting their affordable housing targets.

“It is time for them to ditch any plans for permanent rent controls, work with the sector and finally outline a plan to deliver the homes Scotland needs.”

Scottish Labour Housing spokesperson Mark Griffin said “These damning figures show the SNP’s reckless incompetence is at the root of Scotland’s housing emergency.

“For years now it has been clear that things are at crisis point in our housing system – with homelessness at high levels, rents soaring, and home ownership becoming a distant dream for many.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Paul McGarry said: “It was a huge mistake by the SNP to axe funding for affordable homes in the middle of a housing crisis. John Swinney, Kate Forbes and Patrick Harvie all voted to cut £200m from housing.

“We can now see how affordable housebuilding has collapsed even though homelessness is at a record high and waiting lists are endless.

“That is why it was right that Scottish Liberal Democrats got the government to significantly increase funding in this year’s budget, but now it’s down to them to deliver and turn this around.

“The Scottish Government must also listen to our calls to bring thousands of empty homes back into use and re-establish social rent as a viable, long-term option.” 

Jane Wood, chief executive at sector body Homes for Scotland, whose members deliver the majority of the country’s new homes of all tenures, said: “It will soon be a year since the Scottish Parliament declared a national housing emergency. 

“Starts and completions are the clearest form of data for tracking the effectiveness of the political response to this. 

“With these now falling for the third year in a row, there is nothing to assure either our members or the 693,000 Scottish households living in some form of housing need, that the situation is being tackled with the necessary resource and level of urgency that is so clearly warranted.”