One of the key public policy challenges in East Renfrewshire is homelessness.
It is a major issue across Scotland but an even more pressing difficulty in our own local authority when compared with other councils.
I know from engagement with senior figures at East Renfrewshire Council that the local authority understands the seriousness of the problem and with a range of actions announced to alleviate homelessness.
For instance, the council’s recently approved housing strategy for 2024-29 identifies homelessness as one of the main challenges and with a focus on delivering an average of between 45 and 65 additional affordable homes on a yearly basis during this period.
However, I am concerned with the long-term approach of the Scottish Government to this issue and Ministers have failed to appreciate the significant impact of homelessness in East Renfrewshire and across Scotland.
This is despite the Scottish Government’s own statistics highlighting just how much of a challenge that homelessness has been locally.
Data released in September shows that East Renfrewshire has recorded the highest percentage increase in homelessness across Scotland and this statistic is hugely alarming.
The figures show that when the 2022/23 financial period concluded at the end of March last year, there were 98 families within East Renfrewshire in temporary accommodation.
The statistics highlight that for the equivalent period in March 2024, a total of 176 households in the local authority were in temporary accommodation.
This represents a rise of 78 families who required temporary housing and equates to a massive increase of 80 percent.
On top of this, the percentage of live homelessness cases in East Renfrewshire experienced the second largest rise in Scotland with an increase of 70 percent from the end of March 2023 to the same period in 2024.
Despite the difficulties with rising homelessness, the SNP confirmed in the early months of 2024 that there would be a cut of around £200 million to the affordable housing budget.
This represents a budget reduction of approximately 26 percent.
Such a drastic funding cut is hardly going to help places such as East Renfrewshire to tackle homelessness.
The Scottish Government’s own data should be a wake-up call for Ministers to finally deliver the resources to guarantee that everyone in East Renfrewshire and across Scotland can have a permanent place to call home.
Less than two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon, we were all stunned by the unexpected and profoundly shocking news that Alex Salmond had died suddenly in North Macedonia.
On a number of key issues facing the country, I held strikingly different views from Alex but there is no doubting that he was a giant of Scottish Politics.
In the weeks before he passed, I shared an entertaining and combative chat with him as we both appeared as panellists on a special BBC Debate Night programme to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2014 referendum.
And then at a commemorative 25th special anniversary celebration of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, both Alex and his wife Moira were present with all MSP’s.
My thoughts are with Moira, family and friends at this very sad time.
