3000 KIDS IN ILLEGAL STOPGAP HOUSING

Cash and homes shortage leaves record number in substandard accommodation

- MARK McGIVERN

A RECORD number of children are being illegally housed in substandard temporary accommodation. 

Scotland’s biggest city, Glasgow, has reported that 2909 kids are stuck in homes meant to be a stopgap before permanent houses are found.

But a housing and cash shortage at Glasgow City Council has deepened the crisis.

This is reflected in a record number of council breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order (UAO) legislation.

The latest data shows an astonishing 2518 breaches in the first six months of this year alone. The grim figures come after public service union Unison raised a mass grievance on behalf of Glasgow’s Health and Social Care Partnership (GHSCP).

They claim they are suffering huge stress because of underfunding of homeless services.

Campaigner Sean Clerkin, of the Scottish Tenants Association, said Glasgow seems set for a winter of horror, with tents likely to appear on streets and in parks.

He said: “We have a homeless catastrophe in Glasgow with a record number of homeless people trapped in , often substandard, temporary accommodation, including nearly 3000 children. But many more people are now presenting as homeless and Homeless Services in Glasgow cannot cope any more.

“We calculated earlier this year that the Scottish Government have to give at least £26million to Glasgow so we can tackle the homeless catastrophe in the city. We must get a handle on this spiralling social disaster that is happening before our eyes. We need action now, not empty platitudes from politicians.”