There are countless ways to judge a government’s success: the size of NHS waiting lists, the exam results produced by our schools, the poverty rate, the growth of our economy, the condition of public infrastructure, the state of public finances. None of these measures tell a particularly positive story about the SNP’s record in Scotland. However, there is an even more fundamental test the SNP government is failing right now and that is on housing.
Ensuring people have a roof over their heads is one of the most basic responsibilities of any government, but last week we learned homelessness in Scotland has risen again to another record high. Children living in B&Bs There now are over 30,000 open homelessness cases in Scotland – the highest number ever recorded. More people are sleeping rough, with areas such as Glasgow seeing the numbers double in a single year.
A record 10,000 children are living in temporary accommodation , stuck in limbo without a permanent home to call their own. Hundreds of children are living in accommodation that is completely unsuitable, with the number of children living in B&Bs soaring tenfold in the last three years. No parent should have to figure out how to feed their child without a kitchen or how to get them ready for school without a washing machine.
No child should have to spend their youth dealing with the stress of homelessness or the insecurity of temporary housing. Act of outright vandalism In May, the SNP government was forced to adm.