Stewart Paterson: Scandal of thousands of homeless children in Glasgow should shame us all

Instead, it appears they have become accepted in modern day Glasgow and Scotland.

As of last month, there were 911 homeless families living in temporary accommodation in Glasgow, including 2374 children.

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In 2002, as far as available government records go back, show there were 475 children in temporary accommodation in Glasgow.

It increased to a high of 2550 in 2008 before reducing to 1000 in 2014 but by 2020 it had rocketed again to 2385.

The fact there was a slight drop in the last year to 2255 in March 2021 is nothing to celebrate or point to as progress.

These numbers, of homeless people in Glasgow over the course of this century so far, leads to the conclusion that homelessness has become an accepted fact of life.

It is unacceptable and it is shameful.

Particularly when the average stay in temporary accommodation is 58 weeks.

As an average that means there will be many families spending even longer in a flat they can’t call home.

There will be children spending two consecutive birthdays in temporary accommodation.

It leads to anxiety, changing schools, a childhood of moving around not through choice but necessity.

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Children’s education is disrupted, friendships can be difficult to form and maintain.

Homelessness is an adverse childhood experience that can lead to problems later in life.

Building more houses has been demanded to ensure there are enough properties to house people who become homeless.

Yes, we need that.

But a lack of homes is not the real cause of homelessness. It is not purely a supply and demand problem.

There are many reasons for people becoming homeless, too many to mention and explore in one single article.

They include money, or rather the lack of it, or someone charging too much of it for rent.

They include debt, often also, the result of someone charging too much money for rent.

And there are many other problems, including addiction, to alcohol, drugs and gambling.

Violence, almost always by men against women or children, is another, all too common, reason.

We can build as many homes as we like but it won’t, in itself, solve any of the above problems which are the root cause of homelessness.

That doesn’t mean it should not be done.

There is a huge portion of the population of Glasgow locked out of home ownership.

There is not enough social housing and the social housing system has become one where, due to insufficient supply, those in the greatest need are, rightly, prioritised, leaving many people unable to access it.

It has, sadly, also become seen as a lower class of housing tenure.

Note the number of people who see growing up in a council house and not living in social housing in later adult life as a sign of betterment.

It ignores the fact that when they grew up most people lived in council houses and for many, not all, it was good upbringing, and it adds to the stigmatisation of social housing that exists today.

Private rented flats, too often are too expensive and the demand for a large deposit rules out many who don’t have the income to save up a month or two’s rent in advance.

The private rented sector often sees, mostly, young people struggling financially in order to pay someone else’s mortgage that will lead to their landlord having a more comfortable retirement.

It is an exploitation that has become accepted as a modern financial reality. People, and institutions making big profits from other people’s basic needs.

More improvements to social housing and more genuine good quality social housing is needed.

If the private rented sector is to have a role to play in Glasgow, then it has to be properly regulated so it works for tenants not just landlords.

There are 1850 flats available in Glasgow for temporary accommodation.

During the pandemic the biggest social landlord in the city, Wheatley group, already the biggest provider, made several hundred more homes available to the council for temporary accommodation.

We need temporary accommodation but prevention of homelessness helps everybody involved.

The more people are prevented from becoming homeless the shorter the time spend in temporary accommodation for those who do need to.

Glasgow’s history seems to be one of housing turmoil through the ages. From slum landlords to bad decisions, poor planning and a system not designed for the people who depend on it.

Home ownership is a vanishing prospect for a generation and the private rented sector is like the wild west for too many tenants.

There have been many improvements made to social housing in recent years, with standards greatly improved.

It is social housing that can help end homelessness but it is about more, so much more, than that.