There are only so many times you can publish a series of articles which go back to a recurring theme to realise we are looking at an issue that won’t go away. No amount of comments, responses and rebuttals regarding a crisis of our time seemed to strike at the heart of the problem or evoke any commitment for change.
For several months now, The Herald has covered the housing crisis. Argyll and Bute was first to make its declaration of an emergency in June, 2023, nearly a year before the Scottish Government’s pronouncement. Edinburgh was next to make a declaration on November 2, followed 28 days later by Glasgow City.
You could take each development separately but, when we looked at the volume of work that senior reporter Martin Williams had produced for The Herald which contained repeated calls for action, we began to put the jigsaw pieces together. For a family or individual engulfed in the housing emergency it could affect every part of their lives – from their health and wellbeing, ability to learn and the feeling of stability.
In May, the First Minister, John Swinney declared the eradication of child poverty as his “single most important objective” as a key plank of a plan for government. The SNP made the symbolic housing emergency blaming UK government funding cuts and Brexit. By declaring the emergency, the Scottish Government was said to be formally recognising the housing problem but what did that mean for the families and young children living in temporary accommodation. Was there hope on the horizon and what difference would the ‘symbolic’ announcement make to the lives 18,400 children among the 64,000 families in temporary accommodation?
A hastily announced general election and the count down to the Scottish Parliament rising for the summer break, felt the focus and impetus of Scotland’s Housing Emergency could slip, but that just wasn’t good enough for Scotland’s children. Tirelessly charities, including Living Rent, Crisis and Shelter, had been more than vocal in demanding change. These voices were getting louder and louder.
Read more:
Herald launches Charter For Change to end housing and homelessness emergency
I'd rather sleep in a tent on the beach than leave island
Scotland's Housing Emergency – find all articles in series
The Herald delved further into the numbers of those on waiting lists, the number of people who have died in temporary accommodation and the children waiting for a home. The findings evolved into this week’s housing emergency series but there came a point when we couldn’t leave it there. It is why we are launching our joint Housing Emergency charter for change campaign in conjunction with Living Rent, Crisis and the Chartered Institute of Housing.
It is with the hope and belief that there is a fundamental right for children born in Scotland today to have a place to call home tomorrow. Among our calls is for powers to increase the building of affordable homes and to reduce the number of children living in temporary accommodation. Surely that is the very least we can do for Scotland’s children.
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