Tag: housing

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Third tower block fire in Scotland contained on one floor with no casualties proves no Grenfell risk here

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The Scottish media is full of accusations that the SNP Government is failing to spend the ‘almost £100m from the UK government‘ on fireproof cladding to avert a Grenfell ‘towering inferno‘ here. From BBC Scotland this morning: Residents have been evacuated after a fire broke out at flats in Edinburgh in the early hours of the morning. Around 45 firefighters have been tackling the blaze in Breadalbane Street, Leith, with Police Scotland also in attendance. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said it sent nine fire engines and a height appliance to the scene after the alarm was raised … Continue reading Third tower block fire in Scotland contained on one floor with no casualties proves no Grenfell risk here

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As homelessness falls only in Scotland – the irony of those claiming we’re being ‘gaslighted’ actually doing it

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Today in the Herald: The head of one of Scotland’s most influential charities has launched a scathing attack on Humza Yousaf over the nation’s “housing emergency” claiming the First Minister is “gaslighting” the country. Alison Watson, director of Shelter Scotland – the leading housing and homelessness charity – spoke out as it emerged nearly 10,000 children are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation, such as cheap hotels and B&Bs. First, some facts: The Guardian today has There has been a dramatic rise in the number of homeless young people in the UK since Christmas, charities have warned. The New Horizon Youth Centre in London said a record number of … Continue reading As homelessness falls only in Scotland – the irony of those claiming we’re being ‘gaslighted’ actually doing it

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Affordable housing completions in Scotland soar above rest of UK but Labour/Con/Lib Dem unholy coalition in Fife get on BBC Scotland with a different story

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ As BBC Scotland delights today in the irony of the one housing officer, in Fife, who had to declare herself homeless after her private landlord decided to sell, their extended report has, of course, no context. Here is some. The above graph speaks for itself. Since the SNP came into power in 2007/2008, when Labour Scotland’s affordable housing completions were only just above those in Labour England, the Scottish level has climbed and stayed way above that in Con England and even further above that in Labour … Continue reading Affordable housing completions in Scotland soar above rest of UK but Labour/Con/Lib Dem unholy coalition in Fife get on BBC Scotland with a different story

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A Spanish towering inferno, like Grenfell but with far fewer casualties and once more completely unlike Scottish tower block fires safely contained

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Grenfell above in 2017, Valencia below, yesterday: These two towering infernos have some things in common but one big difference – 72 dead in London but only 4 (so far) in Valencia. Why that difference? More escape routes due to better building standards and a better fire service due to the lack of a privatising Conservative Party government, at times, at national and local level in Spain? Other than that key difference, both towers went up in only minutes. Experts say that highly flammable cladding on the … Continue reading A Spanish towering inferno, like Grenfell but with far fewer casualties and once more completely unlike Scottish tower block fires safely contained

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Child Homelessness hits an all-time high in the failing UK (England)

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No exploitative images here Leah Gunn Barrett This was published in the January 4th, 2024 Edinburgh Evening News. The last two lines, calling on Scotland to end the failing union, were edited out. Only by restoring Scottish sovereignty can we end homelessness and poverty. Child homelessness has hit an all-time high in the failing UK. 1 in 84 children don’t have a home and many are forced to stay in freezing shipping containers, overcrowded B&Bs and unsecured premises without locks.  Shelter reported that the number of homeless in England rose 14% last year. One in ten of England’s largest councils are nearing bankruptcy … Continue reading Child Homelessness hits an all-time high in the failing UK (England)

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Tenants left living in squalor in ‘England’ not across ‘Britain’

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In the Observer today: Leading private providers of social housing in Britain have been made to pay out only a few hundred pounds on average in financial penalties for severely mistreating tenants, the Observer can reveal. An analysis of every decision made by the housing ombudsman, the primary regulator of social housing in Britain, shows that across the 2,907 rulings it made in the past three years, the average financial penalty for housing associations was just £445. Housing associations are privately owned nonprofit companies that run 63% of social housing in the UK. They have recently come under increasing scrutiny and the … Continue reading Tenants left living in squalor in ‘England’ not across ‘Britain’