There is no single cause for the crisis. But one of the biggest reasons is the severe lack of new social housing built. Get the latest entertainment news sent straight to your inbox with our weekly Showbiz newsletter We have more newsletters Get the latest entertainment news sent straight to your inbox with our weekly Showbiz newsletter We have more newsletters Few things sum up the current state of inequality across Scotland more than the housing crisis.
Growing numbers of working people cannot afford somewhere to live. And a record number of families, including more than 10,000 children, are stuck in temporary accommodation. This means kids stuck in B&Bs or hotels paid for by councils.
I n Edinburgh , families are waiting more than 500 days on average before being offered somewhere to live. This is not a surprise development. Local authorities, charities, and the Scottish Government all recognise the issue.
The problem is trying to fix it. There is no single cause for the crisis. But one of the biggest reasons is the severe lack of new social housing built.
And the drop in new builds being completed has not been helped by the Scottish Government’s decision to slash almost £200million from its affordable housing budget. Anti-poverty campaigners warned at the time it was a catastrophic mistake and they’ve sadly been proven right. SNP ministers cling to the fact that they ended right-to-buy and previously had a good record on building social housing.
But they are now a.
