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STV News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Labour calls for statement on housing emergency
Scottish Labour has called for a ministerial statement on the housing emergency, just over a year since it was declared. The Scottish Parliament voted to declare the emergency last year, following in the footsteps of a number of councils after record homelessness figures. But Labour has criticised the Scottish Government's handling of the issue after figures released in March showed the amount of children in temporary accommodation increased further. It is understood there are plans for a statement in Holyrood this week, subject to the agreement of MSPs. Labour's housing spokesman Mark Griffin has pushed for housing minister Paul McLennan to appear before MSPs in Holyrood to lay out what the Government has done to tackle the issue and face questions from members. The minister, Griffin claimed, has 'sat on his hands'. 'It's been one year since a national housing emergency was declared in Scotland, but things are getting worse instead of better on the SNP's watch,' he said. 'The truth is the housing minister declared a housing emergency then sat on his hands while it deepened. 'Time and time again the SNP has opted for empty rhetoric in place of meaningful action, and it is destroying trust in politics. 'The minister owes it to the people suffering the consequences of his government's housing emergency to take accountability and answer questions on this important issue.' McLennan said: 'We are determined to tackle the housing emergency and ensure that everyone in Scotland can have somewhere to call home. We have a strong track record in delivering affordable homes with 136,000 affordable homes delivered, with 97,000 of those for social rent, between 2007 and the end of December 2024. That's 47% more per head of population than England and 73% more than Wales as of March 2024. 'We are investing £768 million in affordable housing this year, including £40m targeted to the local authorities with sustained temporary accommodation pressures. We are determined to deliver 110,000 affordable homes across Scotland by 2032, with at least 70% for social rent. 'We have also announced a long-term commitment of £100m for mid-market rent – and with institutional investment we will grow that fund to at least £500m to support the construction of around 2,800 mid-market rent homes. This is a long-term commitment over several years to make public funds go further and will form part of the affordable housing supply programme.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Record
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Scotland's housing emergency blamed on SNP 'incompetence' as number of new builds drops again
The lack of affordable housing has led to more Scots declaring themselves homeless, while reports of rough sleeping in Edinburgh and Glasgow are increasing. Scotland's housing emergency has been blamed on SNP "incompetence" as the number of new builds across the country plummeted again last year. Official figures for 2023-24 show the new housing supply in Scotland declined by 16.4 per cent in a single year – a drop of almost 4,000 homes. In 2022-23 the new housing supply was 24,348 – but by last year the figure had plummeted to 20,364. It comes at a time rising numbers of Scots are declaring themselves homeless, while reports of rough sleeping in Edinburgh and Glasgow are increasing. More than 10,000 children are living in temporary accommodation with their families across the country due to a chronic lack of affordable housing, particularly around the biggest cities. Charities have previously warned there are more kids stuck in unsuitable B&Bs or short-term flats in Edinburgh than in the entirety of Wales. As of March 31 last year, there were 177,264 applications on council or common housing register housing lists. The figure represents a 1.2 per cent rise from the year before, although Scots can make multiple applications across different local authorities. Mark Griffin, Scottish Labour housing spokesman, said: "These damning figures show that it is SNP incompetence at the heart of Scotland's housing emergency. "Rent is soaring, home ownership is being pushed out of reach, and 10,000 children don't have a home to call their own – but the SNP has let the number of new homes plummet. "Paul McLennan isn't up to the job as Housing Minister and John Swinney is too arrogant to listen to those sounding the alarm about this devastating housing emergency. "Families the length and breadth of Scotland are being let down by the SNP's disastrous record on housing. "It's time for a change in direction – Scottish Labour will reform planning and build more houses so we can tackle this crisis at its root." Housing minister Paul McLennan said he recognised 'these are exceptionally challenging times'. 'However,' he said, 'it is encouraging that affordable housing starts and approvals have increased in the year to December 2024, and we will continue to work with partners to increase these levels even further through our £768 million investment this year, an increase of £200 million when compared to last financial year. 'Providing everyone in Scotland with the right to a warm, safe and affordable home is essential to our key priority of eradicating child poverty.' He said the Scottish Government had a 'strong track record' on affordable housing, including the delivery of 136,000 homes between 2007 and 2024, with 97,000 of those for social rent. 'That's 47% more per head of population than England and 73% more than Wales as of March 2024,' he said. 'Since we declared a housing emergency last May we have been working at pace with a range of stakeholders across the housing system to take urgent action. 'This has involved working closely with those local authorities who are experiencing the greatest and most sustained homelessness and temporary accommodation pressures."
Scotsman
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Edinburgh housing: Council left in 'impossible' position, claims Labour MSP
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now Edinburgh council has been left in an 'impossible' position over housing, an MSP has claimed as he called on the Scottish Government to drive up the supply of new homes. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The city council decided last week to suspend council house allocations to hep tackle the housing crisis. Scottish Labour housing spokesman Mark Griffin raised the issue at First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament. He said: 'The reality of the housing emergency in Scotland is that local authorities such as Edinburgh have been left in an impossible position. They are routinely breaching their legal obligations and are now having to take emergency measures, and all of that is having huge impacts on families in desperate need of an appropriate home.' Labour wants the Scottish Government to commit to building 110,000 new homes. | PA Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Griffin claimed the Scottish Government had been reviewing the affordable housing supply programme target for more than a year, instead of focusing on building those houses. And he asked John Swinney: 'Will the government commit to building those 110,000 homes in the final programme for government, as it did in the first? Does he recognise that a lack of supply across all tenures is driving the housing emergency? Will he look at the action being taken by a United Kingdom Labour Government, and which is now being proposed in Canada, Australia and other parts of the world, to really drive up housing supply?' Mr Swinney said the Scottish Government was investing £768 million in affordable housing this year, most of it for social rent. And he said its move to make more resources available to local authorities to tackle void accommodation was having an impact on the availability of accommodation in Edinburgh. 'We have pivoted in our policy to ensure that more accommodation can be available.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And he added: 'Over the lifetime of this Government, we will have built more houses per head of population than in any other part of the United Kingdom, by a country mile.' Edinburgh Northern and Leith SNP MSP Ben Macpherson said it was 'deeply concerning' that the city council had decided to suspend council housing allocations, especially when there were so many people already waiting to be housed. He said: 'Labour has been in power in Edinburgh for around 35 of the 40 years of my life, and it is clearly a statement of fact that, over decades, its Labour-run administrations have not invested enough in the city's social housing stock.' Mr Swinney said since declaring the housing emergency last May, the government had prioritised work with five local authorities, including Edinburgh. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And he referred to a visit with Mr Macpherson to the former Granton gasworks site some weeks ago. 'The Government has invested £16 million to enable development of that site, which will lead, if my memory serves me right, to the creation of more than 800 affordable homes in the city. 'That is the type of targeted action that the Scottish Government is taking to address the housing emergency, and it will be the underpinning of our housing programme in the years to come.'
