SNP Housing Secretary slammed for not knowing social housing waiting list numbers

The Scottish Housing Secretary was left looking clueless after admitting she didn’t know how many people are stuck on social housing waiting lists in Scotland.

Despite Màiri McAllan becoming Housing Secretary following the SNP reshuffle last week, she failed to say how many people are currently waiting for a social home and had to be told by a media reporter that the figure is 250,000.

The Scottish Conservatives have labelled the gaffe as a “slap in the face to Scots stuck on housing waiting lists”.

Failing to answer basic questions

Scottish Conservative shadow housing secretary Meghan Gallacher MSP, criticised Ms McAllan for failing to get to grips with Scotland’s housing crisis.

She tells Property118: “It’s a slap in a face to Scots stuck on housing waiting lists that Mairi McAllan is clearly not on top of her new brief.

“Thousands of people are desperate for somewhere to call home and will despair at the latest SNP housing minister failing to answer such basic questions.

“The nationalists shamefully slashed £200 million from the housing budget and are miles off reaching their affordable home target.

“If Mairi McAllan is to instil any confidence as the SNP’s housing secretary then she must urgently get up to speed rather than repeating the mistakes of her predecessors.”

Did not have the figure

In an interview with STV during a visit to a housing development in Bathgate, West Lothian.

Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan was repeatedly asked how many people in Scotland are waiting for a social home.

Despite the repeated questioning, Ms McAllan admitted she “did not have the figure.” She claimed her office in Parliament has a dashboard that shows the number of people waiting and those in temporary accommodation but still failed to label a number.

However, when the reporter pointed out she had been in the job for nearly a week and still didn’t know the number, Ms McAllan bizarrely insisted: “It’s not that I don’t know it, I don’t have the figure with me today.”

Housing is a priority

The reporter then points out the figure is 250,000. When asked how she feels that she had to be told the figure despite being the new Scottish Housing Secretary.

Ms McAllan claimed to STV: “I think what they’ll be more interested in is that I am now taking this brief into Cabinet with a direct line to the First Minister and that housing is one of his absolute priorities.

“That we are investing more than ever in the delivery of affordable homes, and that I am turning over every stone that I can to make sure that more homes are available to more people in Scotland, and I’ll be making that my priority.”

The full clip of Ms McAllan can be seen below from STV