Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell is backing Scottish builders who want the Scottish Government to follow in the footsteps of Chancellor George Osborne.
In last week’s Budget he introduced bold measures for those wishing to buy their own homes.
Applauding his measures to assist aspiring home owners the Scottish home building industry are now calling on the Scottish Government to “pick up the gauntlet” and deliver comparable levels of support and commitment.
Housing production in Scotland is at its lowest level since the Second World War, and the country is facing a projected shortfall of around 150,000 new homes over the next 20 or so years, according to Philip Hogg, Chief Executive of trade body Homes for Scotland, whose members provide 95% of all new homes built for sale as well as a significant proportion of affordable housing.
He said: “The far-reaching benefits associated with home building are well recognized so we obviously very much welcome the focus, long overdue though it may be, given in the Budget, with the key points of the Chancellor’s Help To Buy initiative being a £3.5bn boost to shared equity schemes in England and a guarantee to support £130bn of mortgage lending across the whole UK housing market, which we believe are likely to have a major positive impact.
“We have been calling for enhancements to the Scottish Government’s shared equity scheme for some time and now urgently need an equivalent commitment north of the border to ensure that households right across the UK enjoy similar support and Scotland is not disadvantaged in relation to attracting investment,” he added.
Local MP David Mundell said: “The Chancellor has demonstrated that he understands the difficulties facing home buyers and the building industry, and that he is prepared to act to address them in order to break out of the current economic deadlock.
“I now hope the Scottish Government will follow in George Osborne’s footsteps and provide a much needed boost to both the country’s struggling housing industry, and assist all those people struggling to meet their aspirations to own their own home,” Mr Mundell added.