BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS, churches, unions and anti-poverty groups have come together with homelessness charity Shelter Scotland to form a powerful coalition attacking politicians for neglecting housing issues in the run-up to the election.

In an open letter published today in the Sunday Herald, 17 influential bodies including Shelter Scotland, the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Chamber of Commerce, Citizens Advice Scotland and unions Unison and the GMB have called for housing issues to be given more weight by the parties fighting at the polls.

The letter, which highlights the economic effects of sky-high property prices and notes that one in six Scottish families is living in a damp home, demands that politicians place housing issues "high on the political agenda as we approach the elections".

"We believe much has been done but there is still a long way to go. We call on all political parties to put accessible, affordable and sustainable housing at the heart of their political agenda," it states.

Shelter Scotland director Archie Stoddart told the Sunday Herald that the diverse groups had come together "because housing gets lost as it moves up the political agenda".

He said: "Individual MSPs tell me that housing is the number one issue they deal with with constituents, and the range of organisations that have come together to sign the letter shows the effect poor and unaffordable housing has on Scotland - but something happens in the political process such that housing often gets squeezed out."

Theresa Fyffe, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, and a signatory to the letter, said housing was a vital issue because of the difficulties NHS staff had in finding affordable homes, and because of the health implications of poor housing.

She said: "I am concerned that some NHS employers may find it difficult to recruit staff in the future as more and more towns and villages become too expensive. We must achieve the aim of having the right houses in the right areas to meet the needs of the workforce.

"In addition, poor housing standards affect the health of thousands of families across Scotland - tonight many parents will be forced to put their children to bed in damp and unhealthy conditions. This will inevitably have an impact on their health and wellbeing."

The Shelter letter comes as a coalition of major children's charities in Scotland also warned that the main party manifesto promises do not meet the needs of vulnerable children. Children 1st, Save the Children, Children in Scotland, Aberlour, Barnardo's and Childline joined together this weekend to launch an audit of the proposals put forward by seven of the largest parties in Scotland.

They claim that despite the high level of concern about children living in poverty, antisocial behaviour and parents with drug and alcohol problems, the parties have failed to come up with many solutions that they would endorse, in particular noting their "extreme disappointment" that there is "virtually no mention" of looked-after children.

Maggie Mellon of Children 1st told the Sunday Herald that despite years of concern about at-risk children, the parties have still not risen to the challenge.

"Looking through their manifestos the overall picture is very disappointing - the most striking thing is that there is a silence on promises to help the most vulnerable children in Scotland.

"When a tragedy happens, politicians have lots of opinions on what has gone wrong, whether it's social work, bad parenting, young people themselves but they have not turned that moral panic into constructive policies."

Figures released earlier this year show that one in four Scottish children - some 250,000 boys and girls - lives in poverty, compared with one in eight in 1979.