Last week I asked the Scottish Government about the rates of evictions after the COVID-19 pandemic, and if they would comment on evidence heard at the Scottish Parliament’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee that sheriff officers are “making up for lost time” since the pandemic (writes FOYSUL CHOUDHURY MSP).
I was astonished by the answer. Green MSP Patrick Harvie, in his capacity as Minister for Tenants’ Rights, said that I was “overstating the case”.
But the words he dismissed were not my own. I was simply presenting the Minister with evidence heard at the committee, from a worker on the front line of dealing with Scotland’s increasing problems with debt and arrears.
Not only was Harvie’s response dismissive and insulting to those working to aid people with problem debt, it demonstrates a Scottish Government that is asleep at the wheel when it comes to the growing housing and homelessness crisis.
The scale of that crisis was reported recently: a 2,052 per cent spike in court proceedings initiated by local authorities since the eviction ban ended; 366 households facing eviction in just the first quarter of this year; a 16.5 per cent rise in homelessness applications from the last quarter.
Any analysis of this grave situation must also consider other evidence heard by the committee, that the cost to local authorities of evicting a social tenant and putting them into the homelessness system is exorbitant, at an estimated minimum of £24,000 for a relatively simple case without complex challenges.
As we all discovered afresh during the pandemic, prevention is better than cure. The Scottish Government had been repeatedly warned of the potential for spiralling evictions after the scrapping of the evictions ban.
Scottish Labour have been clear that Scotland badly needs targeted support for tenants in social housing to avoid this coming storm. Instead, we get denial of the scale of the problem as reported by those on its front lines. Scotland deserves better than a government that dismisses the concerns of its most vulnerable citizens.
I am unfortunately sure that this will not be the last the Social Justice and Social Security Committee hears on this matter in this Parliament.
I will continue to monitor the situation as it potentially affects many vulnerable people in the Lothian region I represent, and continue campaigning for better targeted support for vulnerable tenants who have been hit by the dual shocks of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
We must have a compassionate approach. Allowing cases like these to be pushed into the homelessness system has no moral or financial case, and the Scottish Government should explore every avenue to avoid it.
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