This statement relates to the additional funding that Scottish Government was awarded due to the formula that is used to calculate what’s called the Barnett consequentials and the Barnett guarantee – GOV.UK
As a result Scottish Government were awarded £3.4 billion additional funding this year. We lobbied the Scottish Government to re-instate the cuts to funding on two particular housing elements.
- The first was to make up the 26% cut that had been made to the fund the helps housing associations build new homes.
- The second element was a request to restore medical adaptations budget for housing associations, that was cut from just over £10 million to £8 million in this financial year.
Our requests fell on deaf ears as those changes were not reversed for this year. Neither do any of these announcements address the systemic underfunding of social care and support services in Scotland. Our Housing Support services that are currently at threat from funding cuts are the responsibility of local authorities, and elected members make decisions each year on what services to fund and by how much.
Housing Support and Social Care funding pots are under increasing pressures as local authorities struggle to balance the books given the huge increase in demand. We were hopeful that given the significant Council Tax increases that councils are agreeing this month, that this would mean that Housing Support Services would be protected but this seems not to be the case.
There is positive news though now that the Scottish Parliament has just approved next year’s budget.
- The fund to support housing associations to build new social homes has been increased to £768 million in 2025‑26 which reverses the £200 million cut last year and is higher than before
- The medical adaptations budget has been increased for the first time in many years, we believe it will be £20 million next year. This will help Hanover fund the many applications it receives from tenants each year. We will be submitting our funding application in the next month and will be requesting more than ever to meet demand.
