Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine has criticised The Scottish Government for “letting down” social housing residents coping with mould in their homes.
In December, Ms Jardine wrote to Scottish Housing Secretary, Shona Robison MSP, asking how the Government is helping councils deal with issues of mould and damp in social housing, including adequate funding, and how they ensure landlords follow regulations to keep their tenants safe.
In her response, Ms Robison said “it is for local authorities to determine how they use funds available to them, including to maintain housing stock”, and that The Scottish Government would be increasing council budgets. The Cabinet Secretary also said that the Scottish Housing Regulator enforces compliance with the Social Housing Charter, which sets out minimum standards for social landlords, including how they manage damp and mould.
The Regulator recently issued a new Engagement Plan for The City of Edinburgh Council, “seeking assurance about City of Edinburgh’s understanding of the scale of dampness and mould across the city”.
Statistics from the Regulator show that 30% of Edinburgh’s housing stock failed to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard in 2022.
Speaking to Scottish Housing News on Thursday, the Council’s housing convener, Cllr Jane Meagher, said that although the Council has already made a “positive change” in dealing with damp and mould, she would discuss “the financial barriers we face” when speaking to The Scottish Government.
Ms Jardine says council services are “struggling to cope”.
She said: “Once again, the Scottish Government has simply failed to understand the scale of the problems facing my constituents who live in social housing.
“Whilst extra money for Councils is welcome, it is extremely disappointing to hear the Government is refusing to allocate specific money for treating damp and mould when it is having such an impact on families across Scotland.
“As Edinburgh’s Council housing stock grows, the pot of money it gets from the Government isn’t, leaving maintenance teams struggling to cope.
“Since I wrote to Ms Robison, I have had more constituents contact me – some of them for the second time in just a few months – because they are so worried about the impact mould and damp is having on their health.
“Many are finding it near impossible to get damp treated quickly, with some constituents and their children becoming ill as a result of mould these conditions have caused.
“Now that both the Scottish Housing Regulator and the Council’s Housing Convener have commented on the lack of funding, it is time for the Scottish Government to finally step in. All of my constituents deserve a warm, safe place to call home. The Scottish Government is letting them down.”
