Scottish Labour’s Cathy Jamieson has welcomed the announcement of additional funding for Shelter, but said that the biggest contribution that Nicola Sturgeon could make to tackle homelessness would be to provide Scots with greater protection against repossession.

The latest figures published in March by the Scottish Government show that the number of families in temporary accommodation has risen by 11 per cent in the past year, from 8,577 in 2007, to 8,976 in 2008.

Labour is calling on Nicola Sturgeon to make an urgent statement to Parliament setting out how it intends to implement the proposals of the Repossession Group to provide Scots families with more protection against repossession.

"I am angry and frustrated that some of those families now living in temporary accommodation could have stayed in their own homes if Nicola Sturgeon had moved sooner to provide Scots with more protection against repossession.

"The SNP government has now accepted that the law needs to be changed to provide Scots with at least the same legal safeguards as people in England, but they should have acted eight months ago when we first pointed this out to them.

"Instead, Nicola Sturgeon showed a unique combination of arrogance and complacency in denying the problem. We are now calling on her to come before Parliament and make an urgent statement setting out a timetable for action.

"SNP Ministers also need to guarantee the full consequential for Housing from Alasdair Darling’s budget as the first step in a new programme to substantially increase the number of affordable homes we build."

14/06/2009