Kelly hits out at housing cuts

Mar 24 2010 by Douglas Dickie, Rutherglen Reformer

JAMES Kelly MSP has hit out at the SNP Government for proposing to cut the Affordable Housing Investment Programme by over £140 million.

Mr Kelly says the scale of the cuts is revealed in a private document prepared to assist local authorities with detailed planning.

South Lanarkshire Council will see a reduction from £17.9 million to £9.7 million under the plans.

The 'Resource Planning Assumptions' for 2010/11 show that councils are being told to prepare for massive cuts of 45 per cent across the board.

He said: “At a time when the SNP should be investing in housing right across Scotland they are planning astonishing cuts.

“Housing and regeneration should be at the top of the governments list of priorities.

“In South Lanarkshire we will see a dramatic cut in housing spending from the SNP. This is completely unacceptable.

“Industry representatives have already warned that they face the worst crisis since the Second World War, with 41 per cent fewer new homes completed in the last quarter of 2009 compared to the previous year.

“The SNP has completely failed to grasp the scale of the crisis and their decisions are actually making it worse. Housing must be a genuine priority.”