Scottish Government has unveiled its Programme for Government, committing to decarbonise 1 million homes by 2030.

The commitment comes with a £1.8bn funding package, which aims to “make homes easier and greener to heat”.

Other housing commitments in the programme include building 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 and investing £50m to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, on top of the money already pledged.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) welcomed the Programme for Government but added that the investment for the new Affordable Housing Supply Programme “must be kept under review” to realise the Scottish Government’s target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

SFHA Chief Executive Sally Thomas said: “It is crucial that we focus on delivering a fair and equal social and economic recovery from the pandemic, and the confirmation today of the target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 is a welcome acknowledgement of the significant role our sector has to play.

“However, the cost of building homes is rising, and our members are increasingly experiencing supply chain issues, so we are calling on the government to keep funding under review throughout this parliament to ensure it remains adequate.”

Thomas continued: “The commitment to £1.8bn for energy efficiency upgrades and renewable heating deployment is welcome, but will not be sufficient for the scale of improvement required to meet ambitious climate change targets.

“With over a third of social housing tenants living in fuel poverty, it’s critical that achieving net zero emissions in social housing doesn’t exacerbate this; no tenant should be left with costs they can’t afford or heating systems that don’t work for them.

“We need a clear action plan which goes beyond today’s announcements and responds to the recent Zero Emissions in Social Housing Taskforce report.

“The new National Public Energy Agency is a promising development and we look forward to working with the Scottish Government to take the next steps on this vital issue”.

Thomas added: “We note the intention to introduce a Rented Sector Strategy before the end this year. We look forward to working with the Scottish Government to understand their intentions in this area.

“We will also work with the Scottish Government to ensure the key role played by social landlords in the delivery of social care services is recognised in the National Care Services Bill.

“There is much to welcome in today’s Programme for Government.

“With the strength stability and social purpose of our members, the social housing sector can help the Scottish Government to deliver a fair and equal social and economic renewal from Covid – starting with delivering more safe, warm, energy efficient affordable homes – if we have the right legislative and funding environments.”