SCANDAL OF 2600 KIDS WITH NO HOME
Fury at city’s shocking statistics
MORE than 2600 kids in Glasgow are homeless and are being forced to live in temporary accommodation, a report has revealed.
The shock figures show record numbers of homeless people in the city.
A total of 6972 residents are living in temporary accommodation, of which 2626 are children, some for up to eight months at a time.
The figures, released under Freedom of Information by Glasgow City Council, also revealed 31 homeless people died between January last year and February, 2024, after being placed in temporary accommodation.
The report, obtained by the Scottish Tenants Organisation (STO), also found 525 people were forced to sleep rough in the same 13-month period.
There were also 3654 breaches of unsuitable accommodation legislation by Glasgow City Council, where people had been dumped in sub-standard properties.
Sean Clerkin, STO campaign coordinator, said: “These homeless figures are unacceptable in the 21st century.
“We are calling on the Scottish Government to provide extra emergency funding for homeless services.”
Previous figures for last September showed 6588 homeless in Glasgow, with 2624 of them children. There had also been 21 deaths in temporary lodgings, 518 rough sleeping cases and 2246 unsuitable accommodation cases.
A record 30,000 Scots are classed as
homeless, 9585 of them children. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife, and Argyll and Bute councils declared a housing emergency last year.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership said: “This exceptional demand is largely driven by a UK Government’s decision to accelerate the asylum decision process. Significant numbers of people are travelling to Glasgow from across the UK.”
Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “We are providing councils with a record £14billion in funding this financial year – a real terms increase of 4.3 per cent – to prevent homelessness.
“Over and above this funding, we have committed £35million for specific action to end homelessness and rough sleeping.”