Leading housing charity Shelter Scotland has taken the case for a better budget deal for housing to senior Scottish politicians today (Friday).

It is urging members of the public to say 'No Deal' to the poor settlement for housing in this month's budget announcement.

The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretaries - including John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon [1] - received a suitcase full of postcards on St Andrew's Day signed by individual members of the public to ask them: 'As you go home for the weekend on Scotland's national day: please think about homes for your constituents.'

The charity - along with other sections of the housing lobby - was left sorely disappointed last week after the call for 30,000 affordable rented homes [2] was largely ignored, and the budget for year one was cut by 6 per cent (in real terms). It rises to 12 per cent in year three, but the charity argues that it is far short of what is needed [3].

Archie Stoddart, Director of Shelter Scotland, said: 'This year we have heard from many MSPs that housing is an issue which comes up again and again when constituents visit their surgeries. Many therefore agree that housing is a top priority - so we were greatly disappointed when we listened to the budget on 14 November to find out that the housing budget has been cut.

'Shelter Scotland, along with other housing organisations started the campaign for 30,000 more affordable homes for rent as Scotland is in the middle of a housing crisis. We do not understand how politicians have failed to realise that not building these homes will keep thousands of people stuck in temporary accommodation and on the main house waiting lists.'

The charity is urging the public to email their MSPs to say 'No Deal' to the housing budget cut. People can do this by logging on to www.shelter.org.uk/nodeal

The proposed budget will be voted on by all politicians in early 2008 and the charity aims to keep the pressure on politicians to increase the investment in more affordable homes for rent.

Notes to Editors

1. A suitcase of signed postcards was also delivered to Kenny MacAskill, Fiona Hyslop and Richard Lochhead. People can log on to www.shelter.org.uk/nodeal to send an email to their MSPs.
2. Shelter Scotland, along with other housing organisations, are calling for 30,000 affordable rented homes for Scotland. For more information visit the media room at www.shelter.org.uk/csr_media
3. Shelter Scotland's best estimate is that far from meeting the target of 30,000 affordable rented homes, the output over the three-year period will be less than 20,000 homes.
4. A full media briefing for the event and the 30,000 more homes call is available from the media office. Call 0844 515 2442
5. Shelter believes everyone should have a home and helps 170,000 people a year fight for their rights, get back on their feet, and find and keep a home. We also tackle the root causes of Britain's housing crisis by campaigning for new laws, policies and solutions.
6. Spokespeople are available for interview, telephone the media office on 0844 515 2442. An ISDN line number is available for broadcast interviews.
7. For more information about Shelter visit www.shelter.org.uk