The Housing Ladder

Above all else housing issues have been a constant at my surgeries over the years.

Young couples who in the past would expect to purchase their first home are finding it more and more difficult.

As a consequence, housing waiting lists are growing longer with many having no real prospects of gaining a house with a social landlord, forcing them to pay high rents in the private sector.

To add to this those families that do have homes often find them too small forcing teenagers to share bedrooms.

Despite the fundamental importance of housing to the lives of people up and down the country, the SNP housing minister in charge has avoided debating this issue in Parliament for more than 15 months.

It is just one of the many important issues that have been crowded out due to the constitutional debate.

The scale of Scotland’s housing problem cannot be underestimated.

There are currently 155,000 people on housing waiting lists throughout the country with nearly 7,000 here in Inverclyde.

Last year, the number of homes built in Scotland was the lowest it’s been since 1947.

To make matters worse the SNP Government have cut the capital housing budget by a massive 29 per cent.

It’s no wonder that Homes for Scotland has said we are facing the biggest housing crisis since the Second World War.

The clamour for action on housing cannot go unanswered. We cannot afford to wait another 15 months before we act on this issue.

The SNP Government must act now to build a comprehensive housing strategy for Scotland.