2 days ago
Time to step up and fix housing crisis after Swinney handed £9billion funding boost
Scotland's housing emergency is easy to ignore if you're fortunate enough to own your own home or have a secure tenancy with a socially responsible landlord.
But everyone's personal circumstances can change dramatically. Finding somewhere new to live has become markedly harder in recent years.
Mortgage rates have soared while the private rental market has exploded. Rising numbers of Scots across the country have been forced to declare themselves homeless to their local council because they cannot find affordable accommodation.
This increasing demand has in turn led to multiple local authorities declaring housing emergencies.
The end result is 10,000 children living with their families in unsuitable temporary accommodation such as B&Bs or hotels. Homelessness charities have repeatedly warned rough sleeping is also on the rise.
The UK Government yesterday pledged £39billion would be spent on providing affordable homes over the next decade in England.
Housing is a devolved issue so it's now up to SNP ministers in Holyrood to match that level of ambition in Scotland. The Scottish Government will receive more cash over the next three years as a result of Rachel Reeves's spending review.
It's up to them to ensure this extra funding is channelled into housebuilding. There must be a joint approach with local authorities – particularly in our biggest cities – to ensure there is a huge push to build more affordable homes. Our housing emergency has gone on long enough.
It's time the Scottish Government stepped up and ended it.
Knife crime plea
Graeme Pearson, ex-director-general of the Scottish Drug and Crime Enforcement Agency, makes a strong argument for upping efforts to steer youngsters away from violence.
On the day John Swinney hosts a youth violence summit, Pearson says more must be done to provide alternatives for young people to help steer them away from offending.
His call is an echo of the Record's Our Kids ... Our future campaign.
But Pearson goes further and warns that many of those youths using knives may be lured into organised crime by the prospect of easy money.
That point has been made clear in recent weeks when you consider the ages of those arrested in connection with the gangland feud in Scotland. Most are in their late teens and early 20s.
Summits, like the one Swinney hosts today, must make clear the consequences of knife crime but also hammer home there is nothing glamorous about a criminal life.
