The Scottish Government is to receive a £1.9 billion increase in its capital funding, it has been announced.

The announcement was made by Chancellor George Osbourne in his Spending Review to Parliament yesterday, 25 November.

The figure represents an increase of 14% over five years, in addition to the Scottish Government's ability to borrow up to £2.2bn for capital investment.

Overall, the Scotland Bill will make the Scottish Parliament one of the most powerful devolved Parliaments in the world.

Other major announcements include implementation of the City Deal for Glasgow and the Clyde Valley worth £500 million over 20 years, of which the UK Government is currently considering proposals from Aberdeen and Inverness.

Glasgow is also to also receive a £5m boost in funding for it's Burrell Collection, adding to a £66m three-year redevelopment.

The Review also announced other actions which will take an average of £30 off projected energy bills for around two million households in Scotland from 2017/18.


In addition, Mr Osborne doubled the English housing budget to support 400,000 extra new homes by end of decade.

However, Scottish builders have now called for an equal commitment to housing in Scotland.

Philip Hogg, Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland (HfS), said: "Whilst we are still absorbing the detail of the Chancellor's announcement, its sentiment is absolutely clear:  to back those who aspire to buy their own home. And the fact of the matter is that, as the Scottish Government's own research shows, this aspiration applies equally to the majority of Scots.

"Supporting this ambition by stimulating private sector construction will bring wide-ranging benefits, including boosting affordable housing delivery through the direct contribution our industry makes in this area via planning policy.

"The Chancellor has also maintained his commitment to the successful Help to Buy scheme to 2021 and introduced a new tailored version specifically for London.  This is in marked contrast to the position here where the announced successor to the Scottish Government's scheme faces budget reductions of up to 50% and will likely be less accessible to buyers.

"We further note the Chancellor's intent to remove constraints to allow all sectors to play a role in affordable housing delivery as well as his support for SME home builders on planning and finance, something HFS has been in discussions with the Scottish Government on for many months.

"With Scotland facing the same challenges as elsewhere in the UK, we therefore call on the Scottish Government to broaden the balance of its approach to housing delivery and place equal emphasis on having enough homes of all tenures in the right places to meet the diverse housing needs and aspirations of all those living in Scotland."

(LM/MH)