Politicians must tackle housing emergency in Scotland before more people die

This is a life-or-death situation for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

The Scottish Government may have declared a housing emergency but the kind of urgent response required has yet to materialise.

This is a life-or-death situation for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Independent figures published yesterday show the death toll among Scots forced to sleep rough has risen by more than 40 per cent in the past year, from 158 to 206.

Across the UK, homelessness and the desperation it causes is on the rise. SNP ministers were forced to declare a housing emergency in May after similar moves by several councils, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.

It followed the Scottish Government wiping £196million from its own affordable housing budget in February – a decision that housing charities warned at the time could have a devastating impact.

No one expected Holyrood to wave a magic wand to fix the desperate shortage of affordable housing across
the country.

There needs to be a concerted effort at every level of government to get to grips with the crisis – but that also means listening to the voices of homelessness charities and housing experts.

Top-down statements from anonymous government spokespeople, citing budget figures with no context, is not going to cut it.

A blame game between the SNP at Holyrood and the new Labour Government is not going to stop more people dying alone on the streets.

Funding is needed now to support people who need it. Politicians declared an emergency – they should now start acting like they want to tackle it.

Plan oche by us

Darts is now one of the most popular sports in the country.

It is incredible to think a game once played in smoky pubs is now contested in sold out concert arenas
in front of thousands of fans.

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It’s rise to prominence started a few decades ago and owes much to stars like Scotland’s own Jocky Wilson. The Kirkcaldy trailblazer won World Championships twice in the 1980s in front of huge TV audiences.

Jocky – along with the likes of Crafty Cockney Eric Bristow – did much to popularise darts and are owed
a debt of gratitude from the stars of today.

Roy McIntosh’s campaign to erect a statue in Jocky’s memory in Kirkcaldy is a wonderful idea. The great Fifer is a true Scottish legend and deserves to be commemorated in his home town.

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