Speaking after the debate in Dundee, Tracy Gilbert – Usdaw Regional Secretary for Scotland says: “Decent housing, which should be a right for everyone, is simply out of reach for many working people. This country is facing a crisis that has seen rocketing house prices and rentals; pushing many people into unaffordable, unsuitable and unsafe properties.
 
“The Scottish Government has failed to build enough suitable and affordable homes to buy or rent and renting privately often means living in poor quality accommodation, as landlords seek to maximise profits. Low-paid workers are effectively paying off someone else’s mortgage, while struggling to afford a place of their own. This is why Scotland urgently needs more social housing. Nearly a quarter of a million people in Scotland are on the waiting lists for social housing, government intervention is desperately needed.
 
“The Scottish Government has not only refused to take meaningful action, they are actively making the situation worse. Slashing the affordable homes budget by nearly 200 million pounds, a staggering 26% cut, another hammer blow for communities and hardworking people across Scotland. It’s absolutely devasting and inconceivable that the Scottish Government would cut this budget at the worst possible time.
 
“It is appalling that we find ourselves in a situation where four local authorities in Scotland have declared a housing emergency, with others likely to follow; where the Chartered Institute for Housing has declared a housing emergency across the whole of Scotland, and the call from Scottish Labour on the SNP Government to recognise and act on this housing emergency has been met with callous indifference.
 
“As a country we cannot allow housing to be seen as just another commodity, to be bought and sold for profit. Housing is an essential necessity for everyone. It’s not much to ask for hard working people to be able to afford a decent place to live. It’s clear that the current system is broken. We need proper measures on housing that will make a real difference to working people’s lives, including an increase in the number of homes available for social rent and greater access to affordable housing that is safe and quality controlled.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion