A "radical" initiative to build more homes for rent in Scotland has been unveiled.
The Scottish government plan should see at least 1,000 extra homes built across the country.
The scheme is different from most other forms of social housing as they will only be available for rent for a few years before being sold off.
Housing minister Alex Neil said it had the potential to significantly increase the supply of affordable homes.
The Scottish government has said it is committed to making sure there is more social housing available, and believes the new National Housing Trust scheme could be part of the answer.
It will see councils join forces with housing developers to build and let houses in areas where there is high demand from people unable to afford to buy or rent a home at market prices.
The houses would be let to tenants for between five and 10 years but would then be sold.
Ten councils have confirmed an interest in the project so far.
PDF version Highland Council has announced it is facing a 45 per cent cut in funding for affordable housing in the next year.
This comes after the Scottish Government confirmed last month it is slashing its housing and regeneration budget for 2010/11 by nearly £200 million to £448 million.
The Highland local authority figures show its grant from the Scottish Government for affordable housing will go from £32 million to £17.5 million.
Allan Maguire, head of housing development at the Highlands, said: ‘We are meeting with the Scottish Government officials and housing association partners and working with them, looking through the details of our provisional programme to see how much we can continue to develop.’
He explained there were 350 homes planned in the housing association building programme but this was likely to be cut to 200.
The council, which calculates there is a shortfall of 4,000 affordable homes in the area, will continue to build its 55 homes.
A spokesperson from industry body the Scottish Building Federation said the picture was likely to be repeated across Scotland as local authorities work out their housing budgets for next year.
SBF chief executive Michael Levack said: ‘We expected cuts but these are even worse than we had feared. This is yet another hammer blow for the Highland construction industry.’
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘These are simply planning assumptions, housing allocations have yet to be announced.
‘The Scottish Government’s decision to accelerate our investment in affordable housing has paid dividends in the Highlands.
‘In recent difficult times we have brought forward £120 million to speed up the supply of affordable housing for families, right across the country, whilst supporting jobs and the local construction industry.
‘In addition, Highland Council has received nearly £1.3 million to kick-start a new generation of council houses.’
An expert group will help prepare a blueprint for the future direction of housing policy in Scotland.
The Scottish Government-backed Housing Policy Advisory Group (HPAG) will bring together members drawn from local authorities, house builders, the housing association movement and housing interest groups.
It will provide strategic advice on issues detailed in the forthcoming housing policy reform discussion document.
The new group takes over from the Housing Supply Task Force, which was formed in 2007 to examine ways of increasing the supply of new housing in Scotland, and which published its final report today.
In Edinburgh today, delivering the keynote address at the housing industry Homes for Scotland awards lunch, Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil said:
"Everyone agrees that over the next few years public spending will be cut to the bone.
"With that in mind, traditional methods of providing and investing in affordable housing, while guaranteeing value for taxpayers' money, require a radical rethink.
"Next week, the Scottish Government will publish a discussion document to launch a debate on how we meet the challenges facing housing over the next five years and beyond.
"More than at any time before, there is an urgent need to adopt fresh thinking and new ideas to support increased supply, enhance the quality of existing stock and improve the efficiency of the housing system.
"The Housing Policy Advisory Group will pick up where the Housing Supply Task Force left off, helping to drive forward and give clear direction to that process."
The Housing Supply Task Force was created in 2007.
The new Housing Policy Advisory Group includes the following members:
COSLA: Councillor Harry McGuigan, Spokesperson for Community Health and Wellbeing Homes for Scotland: Jonathan Fair, Chief Executive Scottish Federation of Housing Associations: Andrew Field, Deputy Chief Executive Council of Mortgage Lenders: Kennedy Foster, Policy Consultant Chartered Institute of Housing: Alan Ferguson, Scotland Director Heads of Planning Scotland: Brian Frater, Head of Planning and Building Standards, Scottish Borders Council.
Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO): Ritchie Johnson, Director of Housing and Social Work, Aberdeenshire Council Consumer Focus Scotland: Sarah O'Neill, Head of Policy
Shelter: Graeme Brown, Scotland Director Social Tenant Representative: Kevin Paterson, Glasgow and Western Isles Regional Network Scottish Property Federation: David Melhuish, Director Independent Living in Scotland: Bill Scott, ILiS Steering Group
This content applies to Scotland only.
Shelter's focus in the field of social housing is on the contribution that councils and registered social landlords (RSLs) make to the housing landscape in Scotland. Councils are still the largest providers of social housing in Scotland, although RSL stock now represents over 40 per cent of public sector housing.
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Shelter's policy work on social housing
Our policy library includes briefing material on many issues that affect public sector housing, reflecting the wealth of changes that continue to dominate the sector. We assess the impact of the Right to Buy on the availability of affordable rented housing, examine the transfer of housing from councils to housing associations that is occurring in many local authority areas and look at how housing associations are responding to increased responsibilities for providing accommodation for people who are homeless.
http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/housing_issues/more_homes/social_housing