What action is being taken to ensure the availability of affordable, good-quality housing for people on low incomes in the (a) West Dunbart…

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:
Through its development programme, Communities Scotland aims to provide affordable, good quality housing for people on low incomes in both West and East Dunbartonshire Local Authority areas. It is also the aim of Communities Scotland to provide a range of affordable housing options within these areas including social rented provision, low cost home ownership (through a combination of GRO Grant subsidy to private developers and shared ownership/equity housing provided via RSLs) and rented/low cost home ownership housing to meet special needs (elderly, disabled etc.)
Within West Dunbartonshire in the current financial year 2005-06 Communities Scotland propose to invest over £11 million in the provision of affordable housing and will achieve 142 new unit approvals. Currently this level of investment is set to rise to over £14 million in 2006-07.
Within East Dunbartonshire Communities Scotland are scheduled to invest just under £2 million in the provision of affordable housing for 2005-06 (with 111 unit approvals) and funding is predicted to increase to over £5 million for affordable housing provision in 2006-07.
A major component of affordable housing investment will take place within areas of deprivation such as Hillhead in Kirkintilloch and in Twechar, both areas of low income households. As a result of the shortage of available land for building, particularly in higher pressurised market areas such as Milngavie and Bearsden, Communities Scotland is working closely with East Dunbartonshire Council in the operation of its affordable housing policy which requires housing developers to allocate a percentage of their development for affordable units. It is expected that around 900 new affordable houses will be secured through this policy.