Labour accuses SNP ministers of having ‘fuelled’ Scotland’s housing emergency

Labour will use a Holyrood debate to seek to put pressure on the Scottish Government over its “catastrophic” record on housing.

With official figures having recently shown an increase in homelessness at the same time as the number of new properties being built has slumped, the party has already urged First Minister John Swinney to sack his housing minister Paul McLennan.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar demanded action after it was revealed that a total of 33,619 households in Scotland were homeless in 2023-24, with a record 10,110 children part of the 16,330 households who were in temporary accommodation.

At the same time the total number of new homes completed over the year to end of June 2024 was down 17%, with the number of properties built by councils and housing associations falling by a quarter (25%) to 5,053.

That comes after the Scottish Government cut the budget for affordable homes by £200m.

And while the Scottish Government has accepted the country is facing a housing emergency, Labour said the actions of the SNP minister had “fuelled this crisis”.

Labour will challenge the Scottish Government on the issue in a debate on Wednesday, but ahead of that the party’s housing spokesperson Mark Griffin said: “The SNP’s record on housing is one of abject failure, and the most vulnerable people in Scotland are paying the price.”

He said: “Thousands of children don’t have a permanent home and hundreds are stuck in limbo living in B&Bs.

“The SNP has admitted there is a housing emergency, but its actions have only fuelled this crisis.

“While thousands of Scots were suffering as a result of this housing emergency, the SNP slashed the affordable housing budget and let housebuilding collapse.”

Griffin said the government had “decided to defend the indefensible and protect its failing housing minister”, but vowed that his party would “hold this government to account for its failings”.

The Labour MSP added: “This Wednesday Parliament has an opportunity to force the SNP to take responsibility for its catastrophic record on housing.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Since 2007, we have supported the delivery of more than 133,000 affordable homes, with more than 94,000 of those being for social rent – 40% more affordable homes per head of population than in England and 70% more than in Wales.

“We continue to build on that record with almost £600m of investment in the Affordable Housing Supply programme (AHSP) this year and we remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

“To support the local authorities experiencing the highest pressure, £40m of our AHSP investment will be used to purchase existing homes and bring long-term empty homes back into use.

“We continue to do everything we can to improve the supply of affordable housing – but truly tackling the housing emergency requires a joint approach between UK, Scottish and local government and housing providers.”