SFHA tells House of Commons: Do more to protect social tenants
SFHA held an event last week in the House of Commons to launch our report on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on social tenants in Scotland.
Last week, SFHA held an event last week in the House of Commons to launch our report on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on social tenants in Scotland. The report reveals the devastation caused by the crisis as tenants face unprecedented levels of deprivation, driven for the most part by the exorbitant costs of food and energy.
The event was sponsored by David Linden, MP for Glasgow East, who is also the SNP’s spokesperson for social justice and sits on the Work and Pensions Select Committee in the House of Commons. Responding to the report, David said:
“I cannot thank the SFHA enough for taking the time to produce the report, and giving a voice to social tenants across Scotland, who are suffering most at the hands of a Westminster-made cost of living crisis. The UK Government can and must go further to help mitigate the worst effects of the cost-of-living crisis, and I hope that this report reinforces the need for them to act sooner, rather than later.”
At the end of the report, we make two key recommendations on policy areas that are reserved to the UK Parliament; Universal Credit (UC) and the energy market. We are backing the Trussel Trust and Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s campaign for an Essentials Guarantee, where the basic level of UC at least covers life’s essentials. At the moment there is no link between the rate of UC and a measure of what people need. We are also calling for the scrapping of policies which push people further into poverty; the two-child limit, the benefit cap, and the 5-week wait for UC. On energy, we are calling on the UK Government to introduce a social tariff. This would make discounted and targeted support directly available to those who need it – particularly social tenants.
In response to the report, our Chief Executive Sally Thomas said: “It is simply not right that in one of the worlds’ richest economies we have so many people facing the level of need uncovered here. And we have to be clear – this is a direct result of political choices. Housing associations provide safe, warm, affordable homes for life: but our members are still seeing tenants struggling. Over 70% of Scotland’s social tenants receive some form of social security, so if people cannot feed their families or heat their homes, then it’s clear that the system is not fit for purpose.”
During the event we met with a number of Scottish MPs from all the major parties, including John Lamont – Government Minister in the Scotland Office, Ian Murray – Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, and Stephen Flynn – SNP Leader at Westminster. There were MPs present from across Scotland – for both rural and urban constituencies – which meant we could discuss the varying challenges for members and tenants.
The report received good coverage in Scottish press and trade publications, including The Herald and The National. It also featured in Scottish Housing News, Deadline News, Inside Housing, Housing Digital, Scotland News Today.
SFHA’s report can be accessed here.