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Decent homes must be a legal right in Scotland, argues new Shelter campaign
A new campaign has been launched today, calling for a law to allow everybody in Scotland a decent and affordable home.
Shelter Scotland is asking people to sign a petition urging the Scottish government to enshrine in law that people have access to the “basic right of a decent and affordable home”.
Scottish crime writer Val McDermid is among those supporting the initiative.
Ms McDermid said: “Home is a place where you’re safe to be yourself. Where you can relax, where you can express yourself and where you don’t feel under threat. Too many people don’t have that privilege.”
Nearly nine out of 10 Scots agree that everyone should have a legal right to a safe and secure home, according to a YouGov poll conducted on behalf of the housing and homelessness charity.
And of the 1,005 people surveyed, 76% supported a new law being created in Scotland to ensure adequate housing for everyone in the country.
The campaign launch also comes a week after Shelter announced it is preparing to take Glasgow City Council to court for “unlawfully denying homeless people temporary accommodation” – a charge which the council denies.
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According to Shelter, more than 14,000 children are currently homeless in Scotland and nearly 11,000 households are in temporary accommodation.
Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, added: “The evidence is clear: people’s rights to a home need to be significantly strengthened.”
“Through this campaign we want the people of Scotland to know that a good home is their right – not a privilege – and it should be law. We also want them to feel a sense of injustice that so many people don’t have access to this basic need.”
Campaigners for Shelter will be visiting Scottish towns and cities to generate public support for the initiative.
Enter our Resident Safety Campaign comms competition
There is still time for social landlords enter a competition that could see their resident safety comms project showcased in Inside Housing.
We’ve teamed up with fire and carbon monoxide alarm specialist Aico to promote best practice in resident safety and help social landlords provide widespread safer places to live.
As part of our Resident Safety Campaign, Inside Housing and Aico would like to hear about an initiative that identified and tackled issues surrounding residential safety and engaged residents.
In particular, we would like to hear about an outstanding communications initiative that has been completed. It will be a strategy targeted at engaging with residents on safety in their home.
This competition is open to everyone and it is free to enter.
Three winners will be chosen by our judging panel. Each of the three will have their project profiled in Inside Housing and have the chance to be interviewed.
Inside Housing wants to use the competition to spread learning and help other organisations think about how they could improve their approach to health and safety. Winners will have their project publicised on Inside Housing’s social media channels and they will be invited to take part in a resident safety round table to help share information.
All entries must be submitted online and be received by midnight on 6 September 2019.
Read more about the competition and the Resident Safety Campaign here.
