MUCH political focus in recent weeks has centred around council tax, new hate crime laws and the usual political dramas.

I however spent the past fortnight raising the issues that are important to residents in Inverclyde, such as housing.

I've had so much casework about unsuitable housing in recent weeks that it's worth talking about.

I had the opportunity to grill the Minister for Housing earlier this month on the Scottish Government’s hesitancy in declaring a housing emergency throughout Scotland. I referred to the fact that the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland, Shelter Scotland and now four local authorities have made their own declarations of a housing crisis.

Even for councils who have not declared a housing emergency, serious housing issues remain a pressing matter.

A total of 130,000 Scottish households are on a social housing waiting list with 10,000 children being forced to live in temporary accommodation. This is no less true in Inverclyde, where some residents are waiting an average of five months before finding permanent housing.

The housing crisis extends much further than the simple provision of homes, however.

The Tele shed light on what it described as a “hidden housing crisis” back in January, with 10,000 homes across Inverclyde being deemed “overcrowded, unfit or unsuitable” for residents living within them.

About 7,000 households across Inverclyde have also been described as housing residents who find themselves being unable to move from their current dwelling. The availability of social housing also means that it could be years until residents are relocated to homes suitable for their needs.

I was ultimately disappointed that the Minister for Housing decided to deflect blame and deny the reality of Scotland’s housing crisis in his answers.

The Scottish Government must join local councils, housing organisations and non-profit groups in developing a nationwide strategy to tackle this growing issue.

At the time of writing, news of Ferguson Marine's Chief Executive David Tydeman's termination has just been announced.

This represents the latest development in the never-ending saga of who runs the shipyard. The primary focus now should be on restoring stability, but that doesn't detract from the fact that serious questions still need to be answered by Scottish ministers.

I do wonder if it's a case of Mr Tydeman being pushed before he was shoved. Perhaps we will never know.