Why there's plenty to like in Rachel Reeves' Spending Review for Edinburgh - but housing is the crunch point

There was a lot to welcome in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spending Review statement.

The single biggest injection into housing by the UK government for 50 years promises to transform social housing and living standards for tens of thousands of people across Britian – and there’s no reason this shouldn’t be replicated here in Scotland.

With £52 billion promised in devolved budgets, the Chancellor has outlined the largest ever grant for Scotland. An exceptional opportunity, surely, for the Scottish Government to tackle our nation’s shameful statistics on poverty and homelessness at long last, providing every Scot with the safe, warm home and life chances they deserve.

Around £4bn over the next decade in extra funding for housing is expected to be provided to the Scottish Government as a result of the Spending Review – and with the Finance Secretary preparing to unveil her own spending plans on June 25, we’re making the case loudly and clearly that this investment should be passed on in full to our cities and regions.

Looking out across Edinburgh from Calton Hill | Adobe

In Edinburgh and the South East of Scotland, where the housing emergency is most keenly felt, we know all too well the financial challenges of building enough homes to keep up with economic growth and demand. Add to that the fact that we have the fastest growing population in Scotland, accounting for 84 per cent of Scotland’s predicted population growth over the next eight years, the challenge facing us could not be clearer.

With Rachel Reeves committing £39bn towards affordable housing down south, the Scottish Government must follow suit and put much-needed homes at the heart of its own investment plans. As former US President Jimmy Carter famously said, “decent housing is not just a wish, it is a human right”.

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The creation of the Cabinet Secretary for Housing portfolio is a positive step with Mairi McAllan MSP in this new role. Addressing the national housing emergency and accommodating the population growth in the Edinburgh City Region must be a priority and I look forward to working constructively with her to tackle these challenges.

Another positive from Wednesday’s announcement was confirmation from the Chancellor that she would commit up to £750 million for a next generation ‘Exascale super-computer’ to be housed at the University of Edinburgh. This will be a national asset supporting countless jobs and investment in the sciences and academia, cementing the region’s role as a powerhouse for life sciences, technology and invention. Given Edinburgh’s long-standing innovation capabilities, it is fantastic that we will be able to reap the associated economic, social and environmental benefits.

On top of this, £410m will be shared across the devolved nations for a Local Innovation Partnership Fund and it makes great sense for our City Region to lead on this in Scotland. From artificial intelligence to data and robotics, this money could unlock a huge amount of investment building on the successful projects we’ve already delivered, including the National Robotarium, the Usher Institute and Easter Bush, which is now the global location of ‘Agritech’ excellence.

The Chancellor has delivered her part. For the good of the Scottish economy, I now call upon the Scottish Government to pass on these additional funds in full and to prioritise investment in Edinburgh and the wider city region.

- Jane Meagher is the Edinburgh City Council leader and cair of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.