Council left in impossible position on housing, claims Labour MSP

Edinburgh City Council has been left in an “impossible” position over housing, an MSP has claimed as he called on the Scottish Government to drive up the supply of new homes.

- by Ian Swanson

The city council decided last week to suspend council house allocations to help tackle the housing crisis. Scottish Labour housing spokesman Mark Griffin raised the issue at First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament.

He said: “The reality of the housing emergency in Scotland is that local authorities such as Edinburgh have been left in an impossible position. They are routinely breaching their legal obligations and are now having to take emergency measures, and all of that is having huge impacts on families in desperate need of an appropriate home.”

Mr Griffin claimed the Scottish Government had been reviewing the affordable housing supply programme target for more than a year, instead of focusing on building those houses.