Housing minister Paul McLennan was facing further criticism today after the number of new builds across the country fell sharply again last year.

Official figures for 2023-24 show the new housing supply in Scotland plummeted by 16.4% – a drop of almost 4,000 homes.

The slump from 24,348 to 20,364 brought further condemnation of government performance. Mark Griffin, Scottish Labour housing spokesman, said: “These damning figures show that it is SNP incompetence at the heart of Scotland’s housing emergency.”

“Paul McLennan isn’t up to the job as Housing Minister and John Swinney is too arrogant to listen to those sounding the alarm about this devastating housing emergency.”

Mr McLennan said he recognised “these are exceptionally challenging times” and defended the government’s “strong track record” on affordable housing.

“It is encouraging that affordable housing starts and approvals have increased in the year to December 2024, and we will continue to work with partners to increase these levels even further through our £768m investment this year, an increase of £200m when compared to last financial year.

The government delivered 136,000 homes between 2007 and 2024, with 97,000 of those for social rent.

“That’s 47% more per head of population than England and 73% more than Wales as of March 2024,” he said.

“Since we declared a housing emergency last May we have been working at pace with a range of stakeholders across the housing system to take urgent action.”

Call for urgent action

A new report from business group Prosper warns that a chronic under-supply of housing will cause damage economic growth.

Drawing on insights from more than 100 stakeholders from across the sector, academia and policy experts, the report Housing Supply for a Growing Economy notes the current backlog of homes is estimated at over 100,000 since 2008 and says this risks derailing planned investment opportunities across Scotland.

The report calls for a reset of Scotland’s housing strategy to recognise the role that all tenures and types of housing will play in meeting the need for new homes.

It reiterates the industry’s call for building 25,000 homes per year and demandsthe establishment of a dedicated oversight function to drive delivery and monitor progress.

It calls for planning and regulatory reform to unlock stalled developments and encourage investment.

The report also wants expanded funding and flexibility for rural housing and affordable homes, as well as greater adoption of off-site construction and investment in modern building methods.

Sara Thiam, chief ewxecutive of Prosper, said: “Scotland risks losing out on the growth opportunities from the energy transition and our industrial strategy unless housing is placed at the heart of our national economic strategy.

“Our members have been clear – without more appropriate and affordable homes, businesses will continue to struggle to recruit, communities can’t thrive, and investment will stall.”

The report was developed in partnership with law firm Brodies, Homes for Scotland, Scottish National Investment Bank and Wheatley Group.