A HOUSING body has accused the SNP Scottish government of “tinkering round the edges of the housing emergency” as it gathers for its annual conference in Edinburgh.
The comments come from the chief executive of Homes for Scotland Jane Wood after a year which has seen nine Scottish local authorities — including Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow — declare a housing emergency as numbers people homeless or living in temporary accommodation sky-rocket across the country.
Official government statistics show numbers of children in temporary accommodation jump from 4,155 in March 2014, to a record 9,860 in September 2023, while numbers assessed as homeless rose by a staggering 10 percent in the year between 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The SNP-Green coalition government had refused to declare a national housing emergency last year, but facing defeat after the coalition’s collapse, the SNP minority made the declaration in May at the second time of asking.
For Ms Wood, however, the declaration must be matched with commitment to building, as she told her conference: “All the evidence points to the situation deteriorating further.
“Twenty-eight per cent of Scottish households are in some form of housing need, housing starts and completions down, 5,000 homes stalled as a result of Scottish government budget cuts.
“We welcome, through ongoing conversations and the programme for government, the Scottish government’s recent commitment to systemic changes across the housing landscape, including planning and investment, but clearly urgent action and pace is needed to deliver on this intent.
“Whatever government we see coming to the fore in 2026, home building must be a political priority that is led from the highest level.
“The time for shifting the deck chairs and tinkering round the edges of the housing emergency is over.”
SNP Housing Minister Paul McLennan responded: “We will do everything we can within our devolved powers to continue to improve the supply of social and affordable housing.
“We cannot do this alone, and the contributions that Scotland’s housing sector can make alongside Scottish government-led work are necessary and valuable — including our continued work in partnership with Homes for Scotland.”
