CHRIS Murray, the Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh told Westminster yesterday that there are more children in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh than the whole of Wales.
This statistic was shared by homelessness charity Shelter Scotland, who say that the number of children in temporary accommodation in Scotland is at its highest level since 2002.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that this reflects the “record homelessness” that was left in the UK after Conservative party leadership.
Homelessness in Scotland is at its highest level in 12 years, with £97m set aside in the government’s recent budget for discretionary housing payments which prevent homelessness among low-income households.
Chris Murray MP posted to social media yesterday, saying: “There are more homeless children in Edinburgh than the whole of Wales, according to Shelter Scotland.
“I raised this appalling legacy of 18yrs of the SNP with the PM today.
“We need action to tackle Edinburgh’s housing emergency.”
In a clip of discussions in the chamber yesterday, Keir Starmer states: “The situation he describes is an appalling indictment of the SNP record.
“The party opposite left record homelessness in England. The SNP record is equally shameful.
“A record number of children in temporary accommodation. Mr. Speaker, we’re investing one billion pounds to tackle homelessness.
“We’re abolishing no fault evictions and building 1.5 million new homes.
“Meanwhile, the SNP have cut their affordable housing budget, they’ve had the largest settlement since devolution, they’ve got the power, the money, now it’s time they started delivering”.
No fault evictions are not allowed in Scotland for those with a private residential tenant, and landlords must cite one of 18 grounds for eviction if wanting to end a tenancy.
The Scottish Government have said today that they are investing an additional £24m for affordable homes through a new scheme.
This is on top of the £768m set aside for affordable housing as per their budget, for the delivery of at least 8,000 more homes.
