John Swinney's first job must be to tackle Scots housing emergency
John Swinney will be sworn in as First Minister today with a nightmare set of problems in his in-tray.
Hundreds of thousands of Scots are languishing on NHS waiting lists and worried about their health.
Parents are becoming increasingly frustrated about their children’s education and the under-funding of schools.
And citizens up and down the country are furious about the decision to ditch world-leading climate change targets.
But the most pressing problem facing Swinney is tackling the housing emergency already declared by councils.
Homelessness is at epidemic levels and 10,000 children are living in temporary accommodation.
Home ownership, something taken for granted by the older generation, is a pipe dream for younger people who are being stiffed by high rents.
This shocking situation was worse when Humza Yousaf inexplicably cut £200million from the housing budget.
A fraction of this cut was then wiped out by Yousaf in the dying days of his leadership in a desperate stunt.
As we reveal today, charities and anti-poverty groups are demanding a reversal of this cut is Swinney’s top priority.
He should heed this call.
Swinney has said addressing child poverty is his top priority, so he should be ashamed of the number of kids living in temporary digs.
Tackling poverty cannot be done without recognising the vital role played by affordable housing.
We are not building enough houses and there is a lack of coordination between key bodies.
Swinney should make his mark by ditching Yousaf’s reckless cut.
End web of fear
MOST parents in Scotland will breath a sigh of relief if tech giants are forced to crackdown on harmful videos aimed at children.
New guidelines being brought in by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom will make it the responsibility of sites like TikTok and Snapchat to make sure children don’t get access to violence, pornography and other damaging content.
Too many Scottish kids are being exposed to dangerous material via their phones – and there’s very little parents can do about it.
That’s why one of the key demands of The Record’s Our Kids ... Our Future campaign is for tech giants to take action.
So it is a heartening that Ofcom’s new guidelines will force them to do so.
Concerned mum Angela Jarvis is right that the problem will only get worse if it is not tackled.
Now we must make sure these guidelines are brought in as soon as possible.
Our kids cant wait any longer.
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