A Scots mum has told of how she “feels like a failure” after being left stuck in temporary accommodation after losing her home through no fault of her own.
Mariam is currently living with her four children in a two-bedroom flat in the north of Glasgow after being forced to declare herself as homeless last year.
The single mum previously ran her own business but had to close it as a result of the covid pandemic. Health issues in the years since means she is currently restricted to working part-time hours.
In March last year she was subject to a no-fault eviction of her privately rented home on the other side of Glasgow despite never having missed a rental payment.
She struggled to find another landlord willing to let her a home due to her part-time employment status – even after offering to pay six months’ rent up front.
Mariam is now living an hour’s drive from her children’s school and social clubs and spends most of her pay ferrying them back and forth from their old neighbourhood.
“Until this happened, I always paid my rent on time,” she said. “Even after we were evicted, I tried to find somewhere to rent by myself.”
“My kids study hard and I have tried so hard to give them a normal life, yet I can’t help feeling like a failure.
“I just want to find a home where my kids have the space to live and study at such a crucial time of their life.”
Mariam’s case was raised by Anas Sarwar today at the final session of First Minister’s Questions of 2024.
The Scottish Labour leader told MSPs a record number of Scots will wake up on Christmas Day “without a home to call their own”.
And he warned John Swinney that rising levels of homelessness are impacting the life chances of young people across the country.
Sarwar cited the release of Scottish Government statistics on Tuesday that showed housebuilding is down at least 10 per cent in Scotland, while affordable housebuilding starts are at their lowest levels in more than a decade.
He said: “Scotland is in the middle of a housing emergency. While all of us here will wake up on Christmas morning to see the joy on our loved ones’ faces, this year a record number of Scots will wake up without a home to call their own.
“Homelessness is at record levels. Ten thousand children are living in temporary accommodation and hundreds will be left to wake up in hostels, refuge centres and B&Bs.”
The First Minister said he accepts there is a housing emergency but insisted his Government has a strong track record on housing under the financial constraints of devaluation.
“We are not building enough houses,” Swinney said. “We have built more houses, more affordable houses, per head of population in Scotland than in other parts of the UK.
“But we are not building enough, which is why the Government has significantly increased the housing budget for the next financial year by over £200 million.”
Swinney said that figure represents a rise of 38 per cent to £768 million, although it comes after his predecessor Humza Yousaf cut the housing budget by £200 million last year.
It comes amid record levels of people staying in temporary housing, with many waiting years for a permanent home.
Sarwar said Miriam’s “heart-breaking story is one of thousands” across the country.
He added: “The facts speak for themselves: 10,000 children in Scotland are in temporary accommodation – a record high – and all the First Minister wants to do is point to other parts of the country instead of looking at his own failure.”
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