Homeless campaign delivers tall order

Published on Tuesday 15 September 2009 09:45

HOMELESSNESS campaigners were today delivering a six-foot-high 'Declaration for Homes' to Finance Secretary John Swinney as a new poll revealed eight out of ten people think building more affordable homes for rent should be a top government priority.

Mr Swinney is due to outline his spending plans for next year when he publishes his Budget Bill in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

The "Declaration for Homes" sets out the "moral, social and economic" case for 10,000 affordable rented homes a year to tackle the country's housing shortage.

Graeme Brown, director of housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland, said: "Resources are tight but housing ticks all the right boxes: housing people who desperately need a home, providing a fiscal stimulus, sustaining jobs, and helping to meet the 2012 homelessness commitment."

The survey of 1,018 people across Scotland by TNS-BMRB, found 84 per cent of people believed building more affordable homes for rent should be a priority in the budget.

Campaigners say investment in housing makes economic sense because 650 million of direct investment could release 331M in private finance which together would sustain around 16,000 jobs.