Alex Rowley Scottish Labour Deputy Leader and MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife has signed up to Shelter Scotland’s Homelessness: Far From Fixed campaign.
The campaign has called for a national homelessness strategy to ensure:
- There is a safe and affordable home for everyone
- Help is available for everyone to keep or find a home
- There is a strong housing safety net to catch people if they do lose their home
- And, that no-one should ever have to sleep rough on Scotland’s streets
Mr Rowley signed up the campaign during Challenge Poverty Week 2016, highlighting the fact that poverty and housing go hand in hand.
Speaking at the 7th Scottish Assembly for Tackling Poverty, Mr Rowley addressed a session on the future of social security in Scotland, but reiterated that at the centre of everything “is a need to eradicate poverty in Scotland and the blight it puts on people’s lives, with housing being integral to making sure it is eliminated.”
Speaking following the event, which also marked the annual UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Mr Rowley said:
“If we are committed to really tackling poverty, as I believe we absolutely must be, then we need to look at what opportunities there are to address the issue head on. Most importantly we need actions that will make a real change for people who are actually suffering from the reality of poverty.
“I have made calls for a national house build strategy, as I believe that we must tackle Scotland’s housing crisis in order to tackle poverty. Housing is key to the eradication of poverty, and we must ensure that everyone has access to a decent home.
“It is a national shame that around 5,000 people sleep rough on our streets over the year in Scotland and that nearly 30,000 people across the country were assessed as homeless last year. Tomorrow morning more than 5,000 children in Scotland will wake up without a home of their own, that is a disgrace, and if we are serious about tackling poverty we must ensure there is housing first, and bring about an end to this housing crisis.
“Not only will setting forth a clear national house build plan address the current crisis, but it will also create, apprenticeships, jobs, and economic growth, all of which are needed at this time of uncertainty.”
Mr Rowley has set out the case for a national housing build plan and this can be read on his website: https://www.alexrowley.org/scotland-needs-a-national-house-build-plan-rowley/
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