Scottish taxes should be pumped into new affordable housing, according to an opinion poll.

The study, commissioned jointly by the Scottish Building Federation and the Chartered Institute of Building Scotland, asked more than 1,000 Scottish adults where their taxes should be directed and found 39 per cent of participants believed their taxes should used as investment into top quality new housing.

Building and repairing schools came second in the poll with 25 per cent and building new hospitals grabbed the bronze, clocking in at 19 per cent, cites The Construction Index.

If the government recognises that affordable housing is a priority for Scottish residents, more money could be pumped into the sector, creating social housing jobs across the whole country. Currently, affordable housing is being built in the Borders area, according to 24dash.com, but more needs to be done to meet demand.

In addition, only 4 per cent noted that investment in a new transport infrastructure is a top priority.

Scottish Building Federation chief executive Michael Levack commented on the figures: "This new opinion poll demonstrates those categories of investment that are most important to the Scottish public, and affordable housing is clearly top of the priority list.

"With the Scottish budget under some significant pressure, there can be no doubt that the Scottish government faces some extremely tough decisions about where to spend the money it has," he added.