Labour leader Iain Gray has called on the First Minister to interrupt his summer holidays and bring in emergency legislation to protect Scots faced with home repossession.

Iain Gray, MSP, said:

"I want to help. If the First Minister will task his civil servants with preparing the amendments today, Labour MSPs will come back during recess to vote this law through as soon as possible in the summer.

"The First Minster must get the SNP members to agree to do the same. Families in Scotland deserve the best protection we can give them. And, although it has taken eight months, it seems the First Minister now agrees.

"Eight months ago, Labour called for specific action to help families facing repossession of their homes. In England and Wales, Labour introduced a duty on courts and lenders to make repossession absolutely the last resort.

"But for eight months, the First Minister and his Deputy have refused to give Scots the same protection. A complacent Nicola Sturgeon said only a few weeks ago.

"I simply don't accept the proposition that homeowners in Scotland are any more vulnerable to repossession than homeowners in other parts of the UK."

"The First Minister should now admit that his deputy was wrong when she said that. In the eight months since Labour called for these measures, in Glasgow alone, 500 families have lived through the fear and anxiety of going to court. That’s not scaremongering, as Nicola Sturgeon claims, but fact.

"And behind every repossession, there’s a real life story: Lives turned inside out; children uprooted, their education disrupted; couples struggling to stay together under the strain of it all; there are almost 9,000 families in temporary accommodation - up 11 per cent from last year.

"Look at the houses up for auction – how many of these are family homes. The question remains why has it taken the First Minister and his deputy eight months to act?

"But finally today, in The Herald newspaper, Nicola Sturgeon promises to take some action at last.  I am glad the lady was for turning.  But she has not turned far enough.

"The letter next to hers from Mike Dailly of the Govan Law Centre explains exactly what is needed.  Free representation for those facing repossession or eviction and changes to the rules of the Mortgage to rent scheme to make it work. 

"He describes what could be the best prevention of homelessness in the world. That would be something to be proud of. The First Minister must promise to take ­ these measures now in addition to those promised by Nicola Sturgeon.

"But he has not left enough time to change the law before the end of the Parliamentary term. We can argue about the figures, but every day we delay Scottish families will lose their home.

"I don’t want that and - party politics aside - I don’t believe the First Minister wants that either. Labour wants to help. The First Minster should accept this offer to help all those Scots threatened with having their homes repossessed."

11/06/2009