Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray has asked Principal Peter Mathieson how the University of Edinburgh plans to tackle student homelessness.
After communication with the University of Edinburgh Students for Action on Homelessness (SLURP) campaign, Murray expressed concern at the low level of emergency accommodation provided for students and suggested the University use its hotel estate to house homeless students on a temporary basis.
Murray stated in his letter to Mathieson:
“Students have once again reported the physical and emotional toll of sofa surfing, commuting long distances, and living in unaffordable, low-quality and, in some cases, unsafe accommodation.”
In November 2023, SLURP published the results of their annual survey.
They reported that one in six students were homeless at the beginning of September 2023.
This figure omitted first years and those who choose to live at home.
In 2023 Edinburgh had the largest rise of homelessness of any Scottish city, with an additional 723 households becoming homeless.
In response to these figures, the City of Edinburgh Council raised the new build social housing threshold from 25 per cent to 35 per cent and announced a housing crisis.
Read More: Edinburgh Council set to declare a housing emergency
SLURP have previously asked the University of Edinburgh to introduce a mandatory housing questionnaire as part of matriculation, in order to more easily identify those students struggling to find accommodation.
In 2022, it was found that 1 in 5 students were being charged over £800 per month for a room in shared accommodation.
In January 2023, the UK government announced that maintenance loans would be increasing by 2.5 per cent, well below the rate of inflation.
“File:Official portrait of Ian Murray crop 2.jpg” by Chris McAndrew is licensed under CC BY 3.0.