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In his letter to Jim Murphy, Director of Shelter Scotland Graeme Brown, makes the case for accelerated investment from 2011-12 into the 2010-11 budget, through the upcoming Pre-Budget Report.
But Mr Brown also makes clear to Mr Murphy that he will continue to press Scottish senior ministers to make housing investment a higher priority "within" the overall Scottish Budget.
Mr Brown's letter describes how spending on the affordable housing investment programme in Scotland will fall by £204 million between this year (2009-10) and next (2010-11), as outlined in the draft Scottish Budget in September.
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He writes: "This is partly as a result of Scottish ministers' decisions to accelerate capital funding from 2010-11 into 2008-09, and 2009-10, echoing similar measures taken by UK Ministers.
"In the meantime, I have met – and will continue to meet – with senior ministers in Scotland to press the case for housing investment to be a higher priority within the Scottish budget. But there also seems to me to be a compelling case for accelerating spending from 2011-12 budget into the 2010-11 budget, at the very least to make up for the deficit which has now opened up."
The "compelling case" centres around keeping jobs in a construction sector that continues to shed them; that housing programmes are delivered more quickly than other large scale infrastructure programmes; that housing can attract private finance; and that there are currently "unique opportunities" to access land at cheaper prices.
He concludes: "Clearly, the ability to accelerate investment from 2011-12 lies with decisions the Chancellor might take in his Pre-Budget Report, not least through the Consequentials that would flow to the Scottish budget. I hope and trust that you will be able to make this case with some urgency to the Chancellor as he prepares his Pre-Budget Report."
(GK/KMcA)
