THE high number of East Lothian families living in temporary accommodation has been highlighted in the Scottish Parliament.
At First Minister's Questions, Martin Whitfield (Lab), South Scotland MSP, said there were 354 county households in temporary accommodation, including 50 children.
And he asked First Minister John Swinney whether temporary accommodation was "adequate housing" under Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child.
It says that children and young people should be able to live in a way that helps them reach their full physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social potential - including having access to adequate food and housing.
In response, Mr Swinney said: "That's a more definitive question than I can answer in the parliamentary chamber today but what I can say to Mr Whitfield is that there is good evidence of progress being made on tackling the issue of temporary accommodation by some of the action on voids, for example."
He cited City of Edinburgh Council reducing its number of housing voids by 500, to 970, and stressed that the Scottish Government wanted to work constructively with local authorities to ensure as much progress was made as possible.
"If we all use the resources and flexibilities and the powers available to us we can make an impact on these questions, as City of Edinburgh has demonstrated, and improve the quality of life of families in our country."
Mr Whitfield’s question came just days before East Lothian Council declared an affordable housing emergency.
READ MORE: Affordable housing emergency declared in East Lothian
Following First Minister's Questions, former East Lothian MP Mr Whitfield said: “I believe this is such an important issue that we must keep raising it until the government addresses it properly.
"That’s why I was pleased to take this opportunity to challenge the First Minister on children in temporary accommodation.
“The Scottish Parliament voted to declare a housing emergency on May 15 this year. But six months after that vote, all the signs are that the housing emergency is rapidly becoming a housing crisis. This is underlined by the worsening situation in East Lothian.
“On the current government’s watch, far too many families across Scotland are still being deprived of their fundamental human right to housing, with many having to live in temporary accommodation for months and even years.
"It’s time for the government to deliver real, affordable homes for those who need them.”
A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said: “By introducing and implementing a change to our Housing Allocations Policy in September this year, we have already seen a positive trend in the reduction in use of temporary accommodation, and the length of time spent in temporary accommodation.
"We have also been working continuously to improve our turnaround of empty properties and are seeing a significant improvement in our relet times, which is contributing to reducing the use of temporary accommodation.
"However, this is all set in the context of a very challenging social housing situation across East Lothian, with a lack of available properties to meet a growing demand. We declared an Affordable Housing Emergency this week as we are at imminent risk of losing much need affordable units and, without new supply, we will not be able to meet the wider needs for affordable housing and our positive trends in reducing temporary accommodation may reverse.”
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