Thread exploring how SNP budget cuts on local government and housing will hurt and not help the fight against homelessness.
Exploring homelessness statistics set against the latest SNP budget.
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▶️Temporary accommodation
Number of households in temporary accommodation as of 31 March 2021 was 13,097. This represents a 12% increase compared to 11,665 at 31 March 2020.
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▶️Securing settled accommodation
80% of homeless households (18,313 out of 22,967) secured settled accommodation in 2020/21. This is a drop on the 83% from last year. This situation has got worse
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▶️Open homelessness cases
As of 31 March 2021 there were 25,226 open homelessness cases in Scotland. This is a 10% increase compared to 31 March 2020.
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▶️Applications & assessments for homelessness
While the number of homelessness applications and assessments for homelessness status are falling, this is likely due to covid - and is storing up a reckoning down the line.
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For example, emergency covid legislation has temporarily extended eviction notice periods. This means a reduction in number of households currently presenting as homeless. But once this temporary extension ends, expect a spike in households presenting as homeless.
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Furthermore, Covid restrictions has likely meant households delaying or becoming more reluctant to approach local government homelessness services. There will be many households opting to remain in current accommodation for now.
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So, the reduction in applications & assessments for homelessness is less to do with SNP successes, and more to do with pandemic restrictions making its impact felt. There is likely a spike in both applications and assessments for homelessness being stored up for the future
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▶️SNP budget 2022-2023
The Scottish Government budget announced on 9th December 2021 sees real terms cuts to local government and housing funding.
These SNP cuts will hurt not help the fight against homelessness in Scotland in the years ahead.
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Thread on the 'audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts'. This audit report covers 90% of the budget approved by Holyrood Parliament.
Highlighting false or misleading statements by Nicola Sturgeon and Ian Blackford and setting them against audit realities
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▶️First minister claims no spare money for covid business relief:
"We’ve found £100m out of fixed Budget, having to take that from elsewhere…every penny we now take, I don’t know where you think I should take it from. The health service? education budget? Justice budget?"
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👉The reality
The audit for financial year 2020/21 however reveals an underspend of £580m.
"Overall, total spending was £580 million less than budget."
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How can a Scottish Government young persons health and well-being survey be controversial?
Let’s find out…
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➡️ the idea behind it
School pupils in S4 to S6 will be asked to give their views on a range of subjects.
These subjects cover the full spread of topics you’d expect. From physical and mental health to bullying and the pressures of school work.
So far so good.
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At this point I doubt anyone would dispute the value of conducting such a survey. It’s good to know more about the health and well-being of school pupils.
But what happens if the survey asks school kids about their sex lives?
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Having listened to the oral testimony from the US Supreme Court hearing Mississippi abortion law case…there are signs Roe vs Wade (1973 landmark ruling which secured women’s rights to abortions in USA) is about to fall.
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➡️Justice Brett Kavanaugh: “The Constitution is neither pro-life nor pro-choice ... and leaves the issue to the people to resolve in the democratic process,"
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He also asked “If we think that the prior precedents are seriously wrong”, does it not indicate “that the right answer is actually a return to the position of neutrality?”
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A thread (which I take absolutely no joy writing) exploring why I worry Labour at UK level still has a long way to go & also still doesn’t get why many millions of voters felt alienated from the party
Focusing on what Starmer’s Fabian pamphlet and latest reshuffle tells us
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Pondering over the Labour front bench reshuffle. It shows what Kier Starmer’s Fabian pamphlet suggested. He doesn’t get the culture cleavage in contemporary UK politics. In Fabians pamphlet he wrote about US style culture wars being ‘imported by Tories’.
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Not only is that worryingly complacent attitude, it means Labour leader is blind to very real threats to Labour’s electoral coalition.
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Listing a handful of some police investigations where the SNP’s name has come up.
These are either ongoing police investigations of the SNP as an organisation or elected SNP office holders. Or third parties with well documented relationships with the SNP.
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