Funding to be brought forward from 2010-11 budget to be spent this year and next instead

Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has announced plans to accelerate funding for the construction of affordable housing.

An additional £100m could be allocated to building new affordable homes this year and next. This would comprise £60m brought forward from the 2010-11 budget of the affordable housing investment programme and £40m from local authorities.

The announcement was in response to calls by housing associations for more cash to boost housebuilding. Although house prices in Scotland continue to rise, against the wider UK trend, the housing market has been slowing.

Opposition parties responded that the move was a disguised attempt to remedy an earlier decision by Salmond to cut housing association budgets by £90m, and that it did not therefore represent any additional funding.

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