Today deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed the Scottish Government’s decision to abolish the right of council tenants to buy the homes they rent at a discounted rate in Scotland.
In 2011, the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme which was introduced in 1980 by Margaret Thatcher’s Government, was declared unavailable for new tenants and new social housing. Today however it was announced that as of 2017 the scheme will be scrapped altogether.
Ms Sturgeon, during a visit to Queens Cross Housing Association, said the move would “safeguard social housing stock for future generations”.
She added: “It is absolutely vital that people can access social housing when they need it most. Social housing is under significant pressure and so too are the budgets that support it.
“The Scottish government is doing everything possible to maximise our investment in housing and deliver on our target of 30,000 new, affordable homes over the lifetime of this parliament.
“But, given the pressure on both the housing stock and budgets – and with 400,000 people on waiting lists for social housing – we can no longer afford to see badly needed homes lost to the social sector.”
Lord Tebbit, a Cabinet minister in the Thatcher government, has previously described curbs on right to buy as “anti-aspiration and (going) back to the old idea of the state being the landlord”.
Annabel Goldie, the former Scottish Tory leader, said she was “deeply disappointed” by the decision and said the SNP has some “very hard questions” to answer about what it will do for the next generation of property owners.
“This was a policy which arguably was one of the most socially liberating policies we have ever seen in Scotland and across the United Kingdom,” she told BBC Radio Scotland.
“If we’re returning to locking people into tenancies then with a single stroke you’re actually eradicating potential property owners. That’s extremely bad not just for these individuals but it’s extremely bad for house building and for jobs.”
How many properties have been bought using the scheme?
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How many people were on local authority and housing association waiting lists in 2010?
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How many homeless applications were made in 2010/11?
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What was the peak period for ‘Right to Buy’ sales?
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Were there any other popular years?
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How many ‘Right to Buy’ sales took place in 2010/11?
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Source: Housing Statistics Branch, Scottish Government via BBC News