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Further to the answer to S6W-20732 on 6 September 2023, grant funding arrangements are expected to be agreed with grant applicants in advance of the conveyancing process.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

We already work with registered social landlords and local authorities to agree annual funding allocations to support the purchase of second-hand properties through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. This streamlined approach is designed to allow these organisations to act upon opportunities as they arise.

Based on information supplied by delivery partners, the Scottish Government anticipates that the Affordable Housing Supply Programme will fully utilise the available 2023-24 budget of £752 million.

The number of directly employed staff with More Homes Division in each quarter since May 2021 is shown in in the following table, for both headcount and full time equivalent (FTE).

The affordable homes target was increased from 100,000 to 110,000 affordable homes following agreement by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party in developing the Shared Policy Programme.

The mid-point target was not revised as we know that annual levels of delivery will vary and it takes time to grow additional capacity within the sector to deliver increased targets.

Bellway is currently involved in delivering two projects through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and we do not anticipate any major impact to delivery of these projects or our wider programme.

Our More Homes area teams work closely with partners to deliver the programme. Capital spend capacity is reviewed regularly and can change throughout the year.

The issues of slowing social rented approvals and starts were discussed with Homes for Scotland at meetings on 20 April, 27 April and 9 August.

The Scottish Government engages with Homes for Scotland on a regular basis through a range of official and ministerial led meetings and fora.

We continue to collaborate with all our partners to achieve our shared goal of delivering more affordable homes for Scotland.

The AHSP risk register identifies the potential impacts if there are insufficient skilled construction workers or problems with labour retention. Both factors could be affected by job losses in construction. Job losses in the construction sector are not necessarily, in themselves, a direct risk to delivery of the programme.