East Lothian Council declares Affordable Housing Emergency						

					

											
15 November 2024

									

			

					

	




    



    
        


            

                


                    

                        
At a special meeting on Tuesday 12 November, East Lothian Council agreed to declare an Affordable Housing Emergency. The Scottish Government has confirmed East Lothian’s resource allocation for preparing its Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) for 2025-2030 as £37million, averaging just over £7million per year – in comparison to an average of £12million per year for the previous five years.


East Lothian Council’s spokesperson for Housing noted that “The reality is that, if the current situation continues, this council will struggle to deliver on both national and local policies in relation affordable housing supply targets and our legal obligations in relation to homelessness and the use of unsuitable accommodation.”


This decision brings to number of councils that have declared local housing emergencies to 13.


The full text of the press announcement is available here.