Homeless in Edinburgh: Why won't SNP-Green ministers recognise Capital is facing an emergency situation? – Miles Briggs

When I started in my role as the Scottish Conservative social justice, housing and local government spokesperson, I outlined that my number one priority was working to end homelessness and rough-sleeping.

The Scottish Government is not doing enough to help Edinburgh Council deal with the city's homelessness crisis (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Every party at the Scottish Parliament has committed to ending homelessness by 2026. As a country, I wanted us to be even more ambitious and aim to end homelessness in Scotland by the end of next year. We are now fast approaching 2023 and that goal could not be further from a reality.

Figures released last month showed that the number of estimated homeless deaths in Edinburgh had risen dramatically over the last three years, with an estimated 21 people losing their lives in 2019, 33 in 2020 and 44 in 2021. The number of live homelessness cases in Edinburgh this year was 5,733, more than double the number five years ago.

In Edinburgh today, there is an unprecedented and unacceptable number of children living in temporary accommodation. The latest figures available show that 2,265 children in the Capital are living in former guest houses and hotels. This compares to 1,260 children in 2019.

We all know that a safe and stable home is critically important for a child’s well-being and positive development. In Scotland today, no child should be without a secure home and it is unacceptable that the number of children in temporary accommodation is increasing year on year under this SNP-Green Scottish Government. I have asked the Cabinet Secretary, Shona Robison, to establish a taskforce to tackle children in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh, but have been ignored.

At the beginning of this year, I repeatedly called for SNP-Green ministers to address a funding issue in Edinburgh where the city council received £9.3 million less in funding to help tackle homelessness here in the Capital, but ministers failed to act. The situation in Edinburgh has gone beyond crisis levels. The number of people who have died while homeless in the city has more than doubled over the last two years. Shelter Scotland has said the situation pointed towards public services failing people and a broken housing system. It is simply not acceptable, and the council does not have the resources to deliver a solution.

The lack of funding from SNP-Green ministers makes it impossible for councillors to develop solutions to help achieve the goal of ending homelessness in the Capital. Edinburgh faces unique challenges in tackling this problem, with higher demand for homes and higher land costs than other parts of Scotland. It will continue to see high levels of homelessness if SNP-Green ministers continue to reject the reality that we are facing an emergency in the city.

Six years ago, when I was first elected to parliament, I warned SNP ministers to act on the drug deaths crisis and declare a public health emergency – that call went ignored until Scotland recorded the highest drug deaths in Europe. It is abundantly clear that the limited actions taken by SNP-Green ministers are simply not enough to reduce levels of homelessness in Scotland and especially here in the Capital.

That is why it is time for SNP-Green ministers to declare a homeless emergency in the Capital.

Miles Briggs is a Conservative MSP for Lothian