As homelessness in Scotland hits record high, SNP is failing a most fundamental test

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.

Homelessness has blighted the lives of people in Scotland for years and the SNP has been making the problem worse (Picture: Christopher Furlong) | Getty Images

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 admit that Scotland is in the grip of a housing emergency, but what’s changed since? The affordable housing budget has been slashed and not replaced – an act of outright vandalism by the SNP.

Unsurprisingly, the number of affordable homes being built has collapsed, falling by a fifth last year. Overall, the number of new homes being built is at its lowest point since 2013.

Under the last Labour government, an average of almost 24,000 new homes were built every year, under the SNP it’s less than 19,000. As a result, Scotland has an acute housing shortage which is driving many of the problems facing Scots today.

The people behind these heartbreaking homelessness statistics are paying the harshest price for this crisis. Countless families are struggling with unaffordable rent or mortgages and, for too many young Scots, home ownership feels like a distant dream.

Wake up

This housing emergency has been years in the making, but the SNP has done nothing to prevent it spiralling out of control. In fact, it fanned the flames with its reckless cuts.

As well as slashing funding for affordable housing, so that housing associations are delaying building new homes, the SNP has systematically hollowed out local councils with years of budget cuts. Councils are on the front line providing housing, preventing homelessness and supporting some of the most vulnerable people in Scotland.

The need for change couldn’t be clearer, and that should start with a change of housing minister. We need an end to the cuts to housing and local government, planning reform to unlock housebuilding, and a real plan to bring empty homes back into use.

The SNP need to wake up to this housing emergency and act with the urgency needed to ensure everyone has a safe, secure home.

Jackie Baillie MSP is Scottish Labour’s deputy leader