Proposed changes to have ‘lasting positive impact’ on homeless, minister says

The Scottish Government plans to change the law to ensure preventing homelessness becomes a “collective responsibility across society”.

Housing minister Paul McLennan said changes to the Housing (Scotland) Bill, which is currently before MSPs, will make it more likely that people can get help with housing issues “before reaching the point of crisis”.

He added this will have a “lasting, positive impact for many”.

Ministers are proposing to amend the legislation to include a stronger duty on preventing homelessness, with bodies such as social landlords, health boards, Police Scotland, the Scottish Prison Service and others required to ask about a person’s housing situation as early as they can, and also to act to prevent homelessness wherever possible.

It comes after figures showed an increase in the number of households who were assessed as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness to 17,424 in the six months covering April to September last year.

The proposed changes to the legislation have been developed by the Government along with homelessness charities such as Crisis.

Mr McLennan said: “We want Scotland to be a world leader in homelessness prevention.

“We already have the strongest homeless rights in the world, but we want to go even further.

“These changes to the Housing Bill will increase the likelihood that people will receive help before reaching the point of crisis.

“Working closely with our partners including Crisis, we have developed a set of amendments that further strengthens rights and gives people the help they need by ensuring that preventing homelessness becomes a collective responsibility across society.

“These amendments will have a lasting, positive impact for many households, and I urge Parliament to back them when they come to a vote.”

As well as the amendments lodged by the Scottish Government, Greens are also seeking to change the Bill to end the “cruel practice” of classifying some people seeking help as “intentionally homeless”.

Councils are currently not required to provide people in this category with permanent housing, but Green MSP Maggie Chapman said: “The assessments are a needless and cruel practice that can be used to pressure people who are already facing huge personal crises.”

People can be classed as intentionally homeless if they gave up a home they could have stayed in, were evicted because of something they did, or ignored advice that could have helped them stay in a property.

Ms Chapman argued: “Often, people who are accused of making themselves intentionally homeless are dealing with real trauma and we must treat them with respect and dignity, and offer support where we can.

“The number of people who are intentionally homeless is such a small percentage of the overall homelessness figures in Scotland.

“If we are to build a more compassionate system then it is time to end such a stigmatising and degrading categorisation that is doing nothing to help people in need.”