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Scotland

Shelter Scotland responds to Glasgow City Council’s housing emergency action plan

Posted 21 Jan 2025

Shelter Scotland has welcomed Glasgow City Council’s housing emergency action plan and their commitment to tackling the issues, after calling for urgent intervention.

On Monday 20 January, the local authority released its action plan to tackle the housing emergency which has ripped through Scotland’s biggest city - with 3,060 children in temporary accommodation. This comes after Shelter Scotland issued a letter to council leaders calling for urgent action after they refrained to formally publish any plan for a year after the council declared the housing emergency.

Shelter Scotland welcomes the commitments made around buying and building the social homes we need and the ongoing review of the city’s temporary accommodation strategy. However, it must be acknowledged there are no specific targets for reducing the number of children in temporary accommodation, which raises concerns.

Director of Shelter Scotland, Alison Watson, said:

“Since a housing emergency was declared in 2023, the situation in Glasgow has continued to deteriorate with thousands of children trapped in temporary accommodation

“The number of people living in B&Bs have risen by 88% since November 2023 and the council failed to provide any accommodation for over 1,000 homeless applicants in November 2024 alone. This is the stark reality and demands urgent and long-term action.

“We welcome the action plan from Glasgow City Council and its commitment to tackling the issue by recognising how crucial it is for more social homes to be available. However, with no set targets for reducing the number of children stuck in temporary accommodation, there is a concern. We must ensure there is meaningful progress, otherwise the housing emergency will continue to spiral with children being on the frontline.

“Shelter Scotland also recognises that while work must be done at every level of government, including by Glasgow City Council to address the devastating housing emergency, local authorities can’t be expected to pick up the pieces on their own. The Scottish Government needs to support and invest in housing so that more social homes can be built.

“This action plan can contribute to efforts to end the housing emergency, but it must end with everyone in the city having somewhere warm, safe, and secure to call home.”