Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what effect the policies outlined in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 will have on the amount his Department plans to spend on policies and services which in Scotland are devolved to the Scottish Government.

Brandon Lewis

My Department does not have responsibility for policies or services in Scotland. These are devolved to the Scottish Parliament. However, the increased funding for Housing announced in the Autumn Statement will deliver benefits to Scotland, thanks to the application of the Barnett formula. This Spending Review delivers a 14% real terms increase in capital budgets for the Scottish Government, which is equal to £1.9 billion over the spending review period. This is in addition to existing borrowing powers of over £2 billion. This will enable the Scottish Government, should they chose to do so, to support hard-working people who aspire to own their own home, and deliver the homes that communities want.