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The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
'Incompetent' ScotGov 'failings' on affordable homes pledge laid bare
The Scottish Government-backed Affordable Housing Supply Programme was officially launched in March 2022 with a fanfare fronted by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon which stated that of 110,000 homes promised by 2032, 77,700 would be for social rent - aimed at low income families. But since then, official data shows there have been 28,537 affordable homes delivered - 5000 short of what was needed to be on target to deliver on the pledge. Having fallen behind, to fulfil on its promise by 2032, the Scottish Government would have to deliver at a rate of 1005-a-month from now on, but that is two-and-a-half times the 396 affordable homes-a-month that actually were approved for public funding in 2024/25. To meet its pledge over the building of social homes for rent, the Scottish Government would have had had to oversee the delivery of 23,692 homes, but currently ministers are around 2,800 short of what was needed to be on target. The afforeable homes pledge (Image: NQ) To meet the promise of 77,000 homes for social rent by 2032, ministers would have to deliver at a rate of around 690-per-month from now on. But it can be revealed that in 2024/25 an average of just 347 affordable homes for social rent were being approved per month for funding - the lowest level for a decade. The Scottish Tenants Organisation said that the delivery of affordable homes has been shown to be "woefully short" and said that it shows the "sheer scale of this catastrophe in the social rented sector being overseen by this incompetent Scottish Government" and said there needs to be an emergency housing action plan. They said: "The Scottish Government is clearly failing the people of Scotland with declining approvals, starts and completions in the affordable housing supply programme and at this rate will fail to meet their own housing targets. This is completely unacceptable." Housing rights group Living Rent said that despite declaring a housing emergency a year ago, it has "completely failed to show any leadership on solving the crisis of affordable housing". Read more: "Declaring the emergency should have pushed the government to take concerted action but instead we have seen empty statements and not enough funding," they said. The Herald revealed in 2023 how professional standards body CIH had raised concerns over cuts to the budget and warned progress on homelessness is at risk without a funding commitment over rapid rehousing in permanent homes rather than in temporary accommodation. In the wake of the Scottish Government making a symbolic housing emergency declaration in mid-May, last year the key housing professionals group had said that while it is a start, it was not enough as the affordable homes budget, a key part of the Scottish Government bid to end the crisis lost more than £300m over the previous two years alone. John Swinney (Image: NQ) But in December, John Swinney reversed a near £200m annual cut to the provision of affordable homes although campaigners said it still fell short of what is needed to end the housing and homelessness crisis. The Herald's seven-point charter for change to help end Scotland's housing emergency, launched last July, was credited by some for sparking the change of heart. It included a call to cut the number of children living in temporary accommodation and a significant increase in the building of affordable homes. New official analysis further shows that the number of all new housebuilding starts continued to drop in 2024/25 after and is at its lowest since 2012/13 with 15,053 begun in the last financial year. Some 13 of Scotland's 32 councils declared housing emergencies since Argyll and Bute Council became the first in June 2023. It comes as the number of small and medium size (SME) home builders has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Red tape and rising costs are highlighted as key issues, with nearly 9 in 10 survey respondents saying government policies are making it harder for them to build, according to sector body Homes for Scotland. Sean Clerkin, campaign co-ordinator of the STO said: "Affordable housing has to become the number one priority for the Scottish Government which means that they have to spend hundreds of millions of pounds more to build tens of thousands of new affordable homes to provide warm and secure homes for all so as to greatly reduce social housing waiting lists and eradicate homelessness in Scotland." Aditi Jehangir, chairman of Living Rent, added: "Every voice on the issue is in agreement. Scotland needs more social housing. This government needs to take proper action now. Gordon MacRae, Shelter Scotland's assistant director for communications & advocacy, said the decline in the number of social homes being delivered was the "inevitable, and entirely foreseeable, consequence of repeated changes to the housing budget and lack of urgent action from the Scottish Government". Gordon MacRae (Image: Sarah Beveridge) He said: "If ministers fail to deliver the 110,000 new affordable homes by 2032, they will turn their backs on the thousands of people in Scotland who are being harmed by temporary accommodation while waiting for their forever home. 'Homelessness is rising across the country, and this is the opportunity for our new cabinet secretary for housing to lead in tackling the housing emergency and do things differently. We need homes for people experiencing homelessness and to get those 10,360 children out of temporary accommodation. This must start with sustained investment for more social homes.' Earlier this month the First Minister urged the UK Government to take more action and spend more money to address Scotland's housing crisis. Two weeks ago the First Minister was subsequently challenged to finally fix Scotland's housing emergency after the UK Government announced a multi-billion pound investment to build more affordable homes. The Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that £39 billion will be spent over the next 10 years in England to boost the supply of properties available for social and mid-market rent. The Chancellor announced the Scottish Government will receive £52 bn in total over the next three years, which means an additional £9bn for Holyrood by 2029. That came as it was announced Mairi McAllan would serve as the new Cabinet Secretary for Housing after receiving constant criticism in slumps in new build properties at a time of rising homelessness. The housing secretary said: 'Having a safe, warm and affordable place to call home is critical to a life of dignity and opportunity. The Scottish Government has a strong record in supporting the delivery of affordable homes but demand is high and we must step up our efforts." She said the affordable homes delivery analysis demonstrated "the challenge we face, but it will be my top priority to ensure everyone in Scotland, and in particular our children, have the opportunity to thrive and I am focussed on delivering that real change". She added: 'These challenges, which are not unique to Scotland, are made harder to tackle due to an incredibly difficult financial settlement from the UK Government. However, we have consistently invested and have delivered more than 139,000 affordable homes from 2007 to March 2025. 99,000 of these have been made available for social rent. That's 47% more per head of population than England and 73% more than Wales as of March 2024. 'I will re-double efforts now by investing £768m this financial year in affordable housing and give tenants stronger protection against damp and mould through Awaab's Law. We'll also invest a further £2m this year to help councils unlock barriers and to target empty homes."
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
ScotGov-backed affordable home starts slump to lowest level in 12 years
It is 8105 fewer than the number started in 2019/20 before the pandemic and the lowest since 2012/13 when there were 4685 starts. It is the lowest number of starts since 2012/13 when 4685 affordable homes were begun and had come in the wake of huge cuts to Scottish Government budget for affordable homes. Affordable home completions dropped by 22% in a year to 7,444 in 2024/25. That is the lowest number since 2015/16 when 6445 were completed. It comes as the Scottish Government is seeking to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% were to be for social rent and 10% for rural and island communities. As of March, 31, this year some 28,537 affordable homes have been completed towards the target. The Herald revealed in 2023 how professional standards body CIH had raised concerns over cuts to the budget and warned progress on homelessness is at risk without a funding commitment over rapid rehousing in permanent homes rather than in temporary accommodation. In the wake of the Scottish Government making a symbolic housing emergency declaration in mid-May, last year the key housing professionals group had said that while it is a start, it was not enough as the affordable homes budget, a key part of the Scottish Government bid to end the crisis lost more than £300m over the previous two years alone. The Herald's charter for change in a housing and homelessness emergency (Image: Housing campaign) But in December, John Swinney has reversed a near £200m annual cut to the provision of affordable homes although campaigners said it still fell short of what is needed to end the housing and homelessness crisis. The Herald's seven-point charter for change to help end Scotland's housing emergency launched in July, last year, included a call to cut the number of children living in temporary accommodation and a significant increase in the building of affordable homes. The Scottish Tenants Organisation said the drops in affordable housing starts were "a disaster" with thousands on the housing waiting lists in Scotland and thousands more homeless and struggling to survive. "The Scottish Government have got to make affordable housing and especially social rented homes it's number one priority by increasing spending on building houses to many hundreds of millions of pounds as at the current time this SNP Government is badly failing the tenants and homeless people of Scotland. "We need action now." New official analysis further shows that the number of all new housebuilding starts continued to drop in 2024/25 after and is at its lowest since 2012/13 with 15,053 begun in the last financial year. Some 13 of Scotland's 32 councils declared housing emergencies since Argyll and Bute Council became the first in June, 2023. It comes as the number of small and medium size (SME) home builders has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Red tape and rising costs are highlighted as key issues, with nearly 9 in 10 survey respondents saying government policies are making it harder for them to build, according to sector body Homes for Scotland. Earlier this month the First Minister urged the UK Government to take more action and spend more money to address Scotland's housing crisis. Two weeks ago the First Minister was subsequently challenged to finally fix Scotland's housing emergency after the UK Government announced a multi-billion pound investment to build more affordable homes. The Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that £39 billion will be spent over the next 10 years in England to boost the supply of properties available for social and mid-market rent. The Chancellor announced the Scottish Government will receive £52 billion in total over the next three years, which means an additional £9 billion for Holyrood by 2029. That came as it was announced Mairi McAllan would serve as the new Cabinet Secretary for Housing after receiving constant criticism in slumps in new build properties at a time of rising homelessness.
The Herald Scotland
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Swinney urged to act over 'disastrous' rise in Glasgow street sleepers
Now campaigners have written to John Swinney asking for his intervention in the rough sleeping 'crisis' which comes after the city declared a housing emergency in November 2023. There are also concerns that things could get even worse with the closure of a homeless shelter and support hub in Glasgow which supporters say are placing 33 vulnerable people back onto the streets every single night. The facility, operated by Homeless Project Scotland in Glassford Street since December 2023, is purported to be the only source of hot food for up to 350 people every day. It comes as the Glasgow City Council refused planning permission for the 24-hour shelter. The Scottish Tenants Organisation, which has been tracking the numbers sleeping rough, has called for urgent action from the First Minister about the soaring numbers or people sleeping rough saying: "The increasing numbers rough sleeping in Glasgow is a complete disaster. We need the intervention of the First Minister so that the Scottish Government can give better funding to Glasgow to deal with all the problems related to homelessness in the city." Glasgow declared a housing emergency while the numbers seeking council help for homelessness rose by 27% since before the Covid pandemic from 6074 in 2019/20 to 7725 in 2023/24. Read more: Why is Glasgow struggling to handle the homeless? 'Boils the blood': 30,000 demand women-only Scots homeless refuge as deaths rise 'Can't cope': Two thirds of homeless children in housing emergency digs are refugees 'Heads should roll': Economist group indicates FM's homeless crisis action not enough 'Wake up call': New report offers damning findings on children in homeless system The Herald previously revealed that the UK's immigration system is being plunged into uncertainty as Glasgow has sought to pull the plug on the acceptance of asylum seekers as the taxpayer costs of dealing with refugees are set to treble in three years. Costs in the Glasgow area alone are snowballing from an estimated £26.5m in 2024/25 to a projected £79m in 2027/28 and the city council has been seeing urgent financial support from UK ministers to deal with the influx caused they say by a speeded up asylum dispersal process to address a significant backlog of UK-wide immigration decisions and reduce the numbers of applicants. Refugees make up around 41% of Glasgow homelessness applications - who have a right to at the very least makeshift emergency accommodation - with councils becoming increasingly reliant on hotels and bed and breakfasts. Glasgow, while in the midst of a housing emergency, has become the number one UK hotspot for acceptance of asylum seekers caused in the main by a north-south divide in the law over how they are treated. The city was the UK local authority with the most housed asylum seekers with over 4,193, or around 67 per 10,000 residents. Across the UK there are typically just 16 asylum seekers per 10,000 of population. Some 70% of the 6,057 asylum seekers being housed in Scotland are being supported in the nation's biggest city, with 30% running across 21 of the 31 remaining Scots local authorities. A study by the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership (GCHSCP) - which administers social care, addiction, homelessness support, child protection and criminal justice services - warns that there were "unprecedented numbers" of refugees travelling to Glasgow from outwith the city, from mainly Belfast, Manchester and London, with 650 recorded in January 2024 alone. And the number of homelessness applications in Glasgow from people who have been granted refugee status or the leave to remain in the country has doubled in a year from 1384 in 2022/23 to 2,709 in 2023/24. John Swinney (Image: Duncan McGlynn) The STO has written to the First Minister asking for his intervention in the wake of the "shocking" increase in the numbers of people that are forced to sleep rough, saying that the Scottish Government needs to plough more money into Glasgow to tackle the crisis. They say: "We demand from you that you make tackling the housing and homeless emergency your number immediate one priority and to make Glasgow a special case for extra resources to eradicate rough sleeping. Nothing else will do." It has also said that the refusal of planning permission for the shelter by the council is "cruel and vindictive based on nothing more than prejudice and disdain for homeless people in Glasgow". Campaigners believe that the rough sleeping numbers could be even worse, as many are not seeking council help and so would not declare that they were sleeping rough. Tenants' rights group Living Rent said in response to the rise in rough sleepers: "Our politicians have fallen asleep at the wheel. Despite declaring a housing emergency in 2023, Glasgow City Council continues to fail in its responsibility to house its residents. It is clear the government needs to step in." Homeless Project Scotland say that the "deeply shocking" council decision over its facility cites 'fear of crime' and 'obstruction of footways' as reasons to shut down the service – "despite the "overwhelming humanitarian need" it meets in the heart of Glasgow". The shelter organisers say that it is operated with no funding from council tax payers and is run entirely by dedicated volunteers who they say work around the clock to protect those society has left behind. Colin McInnes, of the project, said that "people will die as a result of the decision" as there was no alternative provision. The project has called on the Scottish Government to step in to "protect the rights and lives of homeless people". Homeless Project Scotland (Image: Colin Mearns) Sean Clerkin, campaign co-ordinator of the STO added: "The increase in rough sleeping in Glasgow is a testament to the catastrophic failure of the authorities to deal with homelessness in recent years resulting in an increase in men and women living in abject destitution. "A housing revolution has to occur in Glasgow with the Scottish Government injecting tens of millions of pounds extra into the city so that the city council can directly build thousands of good quality public sector homes including temporary accommodation for men, women and children so that no one sleeps rough on the streets of Glasgow." Glasgow City Council has confirmed that progress to address homelessness in the city has been classified as red, which indicates major slippage due to the challenges. And the owners of hotels that used to house homeless people in Glasgow have seen a huge increase in income from the council. In the last year, from April 2024 to March 2025, the council paid more than £45 million to private hotels and B&B owners in the city. In 2023/24 it was £26,724,422. Living Rent secretary Ruaraidh Dempster added: "The Housing Bill offers a huge opportunity to help combat the homelessness crisis. Strong, effective rent controls that bring down rents would ensure that people are not being forced into homelessness. "But the government needs to go further. Tenants need stronger protections against eviction and greater support to stay put. And the government needs to deliver more social housing, through more funding for stock buy back and for social and council house building programmes, to ensure people have a stable, secure, long-term place to live. "Scotland has the resources. The failure to combat homelessness is a choice that our politicians continue to make. It is time they took action and committed to solving the housing and homelessness crisis." A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: "We have been clear about the pressures facing Glasgow and we remain in contact with both Governments about these pressures.' Paul McLennan, housing minister (Image: Together/NQ/BD) Housing minister Paul McLennan said: 'This year we have targeted funding of £40m to local authorities with sustained temporary accommodation pressures, taking our investment in affordable housing to £768m. In 2025-26 we are providing Glasgow City Council with over £1.68bn to fund local services, including homelessness services - an additional 5.5% compared to 2024-25. 'Night shelters do not provide a safe or dignified way for people at risk of rough sleeping to receive support and we are committed to phasing out this type of accommodation in Scotland. We have provided over £1.2m of funding since 2020 to support the delivery of rapid rehousing welcome centres as an alternative to night shelters in Glasgow and Edinburgh over winter. In 2024-25 we provided £87,141 to ensure additional supportive measures were in place to support people at risk of rough sleeping in Glasgow. 'We have also provided over £256,000 of personalised budget funding to third sector organisations across Scotland since 2020 so staff can provide people who are rough sleeping with support in a dignified and person-centred way.'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Homeless hotel owners see a massive jump in cash from council
The owners of hotels used to house homeless people in Glasgow have seen a huge increase in income from the council. In the last year, from April 2024 to March 2025, the council paid more than £45 million to private hotels and B&B owners in the city. Demand for homeless accommodation has rocketed, and the council said it is seeking help from the UK and Scottish governments. READ NEXT:Families could be stuck on housing list for more than 100 years in Glasgow The cash paid to owners, some of who own several hotels, has rocketed by almost 70% in a year. In 2023/24 it was £26, 724,422. Last year, the total bill was £45,292,346. The year before the bill was £20,368,474, meaning the money paid to open increased by 122% in just two years. The Glasgow Times launched the End the Homeless Hotel Shame campaign to highlight the conditions people were living in. Mike Dailly, Solicitor Advocate at Govan Law Centre has called for a new approach where the public sector provides accommodation. He said: "It is lunacy and such a waste of Scottish taxpayers and Glasgow council taxpayers' money to keep throwing millions of pounds at poor quality and super expensive homeless hotels in our city. People should have dignity and taxpayers should get value for money. 'We need to build our own temporary accommodation and work with housing associations to build temporary accommodation. That would ensure high-quality temporary homes for homeless people. It really is a no-brainer. READ NEXT:Glasgow councillor removed from powerful city committee The bill could have been higher as not everyone who needs it is able to get a room in one of the 40 hotels. The data also revealed that on 3058 occasions, someone was refused emergency accommodation in the last year. The council said this is because all rooms were full. The information was requested by the Scottish Tenants Organisation. Sean Clerkin, campaign director, said: 'The housing and homeless disaster in Glasgow only worsens, ruining the lives of thousand of men, women and children, whether they be the new refugee to the city or the family that was evicted yesterday for rent arrears in Maryhill. 'The profiteers of homeless misery continue to make their tens of millions of pounds unabated, with no improvement in the basic conditions of the homeless, especially women and children and 3,058 people are still refused homeless accommodation. Those sleeping on the streets of Glasgow doubled in number from 154 to 323 in the space of weeks. He agreed with Mr Dailly on a new approach. Mr Clerkin added: Mike Dailly the top housing lawyer and columnist for the Glasgow Times has repeatedly stated correctly that tens of millions of pounds can be re-directed to Glasgow City Council to directly build good quality temporary accommodation especially safe single sex halfway accommodation for women and children and then move them rapidly on to safe and secure permanent homes. 'This cannot and must not be allowed to continue, as there has to be a housing revolution in Glasgow.' A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: 'We're duty-bound to find and provide emergency accommodation to those affected by homelessness. "We are having to spend more and more on hotels and bed & breakfast use in our attempts to meet the increasing demand for accommodation and avoid people having to sleep rough. 'Unfortunately, we are aware of a rise in the number of refusals for accommodation - this happens when there is no accommodation available. We currently use 40 hotels across the city to accommodate those whom we have a confirmed duty for. 'There is no quick alternative. We are in continual dialogue with both Governments about these challenges and continue to seek the additional resources necessary to address the challenges we are facing.'
