Lack of democracy
General from India, Mr Rajpal.
It was his first Burns Supper and from the haggis to the songs and speeches I am sure his enjoyment was genuine – he has promised that next year he will recite a verse of Tam o’Shanter!
I will be meeting with him again soon to talk about the cultures of his own country and how we can recognise this more in the work of our Parliament.
Robert Burns I am sure would be fascinated to learn of the number of Suppers that are held in his honour, right across
A Tory MSP has slammed the Scottish Government for “overseeing a housing crisis”.
It comes as it has published its analysis into the state of the country’s homes.
Shadow housing minister, Graham Simpson, insists not only are there not enough homes – the ones there are not of a good enough standard.
Mr Simpson previously hit out at the increasing number of empty homes in South Lanarkshire – and across Scotland – calling on the local authority to “up its game” in filling empty homes.
Since then SLC have confirmed they are looking to appoint an Empty Homes Officer.
And latest figures in The Scottish House Condition Survey also revealed in 2018, 57 per cent of properties had “disrepair to critical elements”, a seven per cent rise on the previous year.
And the number of homes requiring urgent repairs increased in 2018 from 28 per cent to 30 per cent.
Former East Kilbride councillor, Graham Simpson said: “The SNP is overseeing a housing crisis in Scotland.
“Not only do we not have enough homes generally, but the housing we do have is simply not of a high enough standard, and things are getting worse.”
“The SNP has been in charge of housing for almost 13 years, and has to take full responsibility for this decline in standards.
“The nationalists like to talk a good game on poverty and living conditions but, like everything else, they completely fail to deliver in practice.”
He also previously implored the SNP to follow through on their housing policy commitments
Figures show there were over 65,000 second homes and empty properties in Scotland
Our country has a healthy cultural and artistic life
arguing that utilising Scotland’s existing, unoccupied housing stock is an answer to the growing housing crisis.
Latest figures show that in 2019 there were 65,277 second homes and empty properties in Scotland.
But East Kilbride SNP MSP, Linda Fabiani, said: “I know through regular dealings with South Lanarkshire Council and our local housing associations that here in East Kilbride we generally have high quality housing stock in the public sector, with long-term cyclical maintenance planning to ensure repair programmes are in place.
“Local authority data will be published in the coming weeks, but it is clear that since 2012, the rates of disrepair figures for South
Lanarkshire has shown a reduction in every category – be it some disrepair to critical elements, urgent disrepair, or extensive disrepair. Steady progress is being made.
“The vast majority of households surveyed in this report are owneroccupied or in the private rented sector, suggesting more work needs to be done by owners to maintain their properties in good condition.”
Ms Fabiani has also argued there was “no simple, straightforward solution as suggested by Graham Simpson and his Tory colleagues”.
The report also goes on to say that In 2018, 41 per cent of Scottish homes failed to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS), similar to 2017 levels but down from 45 per cent in 2016 and 61 per cent
in 2010.
Statistics also previously revealed that the number of empty properties in South Lanarkshire increased from 2656 in 2007 to 3243 in 2017 – a 22 per cent increase.
A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council said: “We are working with the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership to review the services we provide, with the aim of increasing the number of longterm empty homes brought back into use, and this also includes the establishment of a dedicated empty homes officer.
“Bringing long-term empty properties back into use provides significant benefits to those who need homes and to communities generally.”