MORE than 14,300 people in Dumfries and Galloway are on social housing waiting lists.
And nearly 5300 of them are children, according to the latest figures which were obtained in a Freedom of Information Request.
Galloway and West MSP Finlay Carson has slammed the new statistics, describing them as “disgraceful”.
He said: “These figures are a disgrace and wholly unacceptable.
“It should be a source of shame for SNP-Green ministers that 5291 children in Dumfries and Galloway are on social housing waiting lists.
“The findings completely expose the failure of SNP-Green ministers to build enough affordable homes in the region.”
Mr Carson argued that communities are facing a housing crisis, yet there’s not enough action from ministers.
He added: “The decision to cut the housing budget has come back to haunt them.
“They should use these figures to act as an urgent wake-up call to reverse those cuts, otherwise the number on waiting lists will spiral out of control.”
- Responses to Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Scottish Conservatives and Unionist Party to Scotland’s 32 local authorities revealed that 103,732 children are currently on social housing waiting lists. The true figure is likely to be even higher, however, as one council – West Dunbartonshire failed to respond. The FOI stats discovered more than 300,000 people across Scotland are on social housing waiting lists. Both Loreburn Housing Association and Wheatley provided information in the case of Dumfries and Galloway Council.
