Campaigners warn Swinney they have no confidence in housing emergency strategy

Homelessness campaigners have no confidence in current plans to tackle the housing crisis in Scotland, the First Minister has been warned.

A coalition of housing and anti-poverty charities, including Shelter Scotland and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, have sent John Swinney an urgent letter calling on the Scottish Government to “change course”.

It comes ahead of a ministerial statement at Holyrood a month after a housing emergency was officially declared at the Parliament.

The coalition acknowledged the “ambitious aims” in the Government’s housing and homeless strategies, but warned both have been “fatally undermined” by spending cuts in recent budgets.

Mr Swinney and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes have been urged to meet with the campaigners as housing charities warn the next major step must be reducing the number of children in temporary accommodation by the end of the parliamentary term in 2026.

The latest figures from Shelter Scotland show 9,860 children were in temporary accommodation on September 30, 2023.

The letter said: “We need political leadership with the power and money to deliver. We do not have any confidence that the current structures can deliver unless you are willing to invest your political capital in changing course.”

It went on to say declaring a housing emergency was a “first step”, and there “remains a much further distance to travel until we can say Scotland’s housing emergency is in retreat or even close to ending”.

The group also called for an urgent increase in the supply of new social homes and for the full funding of homelessness services.

Alison Watson, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “The First Minister has made clear he wants to eradicate child poverty, so it’s vital that the Scottish Government prioritises action which reduces the untold harm caused by the housing emergency to the 10,000 children currently trapped in temporary accommodation.

“Having declared a housing emergency, ministers now have a responsibility to show us what they’re going to do differently in tackling it. Things can’t just continue as before, we need to see a new approach to meeting housing need.

“There is a long way to travel before we can say the housing emergency is even in retreat, but I believe the proposals set out today by this unprecedented coalition of housing and anti-poverty organisations are the right next steps to take us down that path.”

Chris Birt, associate director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “Child poverty cannot be eradicated while so many children in Scotland don’t have a place to call home.

“Fundamentally, our homes must be the foundation from which we can explore our potential and feel safe.

“This plan sets out the first steps that the Scottish Government must take to end this housing emergency, crucially including increasing the supply of social homes, and start to restore the security that every household deserves.

“We look forward to working with the Scottish Government, the broader Parliament and the housing sector to bring this emergency to an end.”

The Scottish Government has been asked for comment.