Shelter Scotland welcomes Glasgow’s housing emergency declaration

Shelter Scotland has today welcomed Glasgow City Council’s declaration of a housing emergency. 

Scotland’s largest city declared a housing emergency this morning at a meeting of the City Administration Committee. 

Shelter Scotland has been leading the campaign for local authorities and the Scottish Government to declare a housing emergency.

In a deputation to the committee, the charity’s director Alison Watson said Glasgow had been in a housing emergency for some time and cited the thousands of children stuck in temporary homeless accommodation, the chronic shortage of social housing, and the rising number of live homelessness applications as evidence of scale of the city’s challenges.

Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said:

“Thousands of children in Scotland’s largest city have nowhere to call home, private rents are out of control, and overstretched homelessness services simply can’t cope with demand – Glasgow is clearly in a housing emergency. 

"Glasgow’s housing emergency is long standing, and we’re pleased it has been formally acknowledged by councillors today.

“The root cause of the city’s housing emergency is a chronic lack of social housing, but it’s been exacerbated by a cost-of-living crisis, the pandemic as well as the uncaring, thoughtless, actions of the Home Office

“By coming together to acknowledge that reality today, councillors now have licence to deliver the emergency response needed – it’s vital they do so.

“Of course, there are aspects of the housing emergency that are beyond the council's control, both the UK and Scottish governments must share responsibility, but people in Glasgow are crying out for action and every level of government has a duty to respond.

“The declaration of a housing emergency must be just the beginning of a journey for Glasgow – one which ends with everyone in the city having somewhere warm, safe, and secure to call home.”