Committee
Local Government and Communities Committee 10 February 2021
10 Feb 2021 · S5 · Local Government and Communities Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) (Modification and Revocation) (Coronavirus) Order 2021 (SSI 2021/10)
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests about my former employment with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. Minister, I found it useful to see the Scottish Government’s feedback on the issue and the reasons why you want the committee to support the order. I also found the submission from the local authorities very useful, and I want to ask a couple of questions about that. More homeless households are being given lets—the number has gone up from 308 to 960. There has also been an increase in homeless households being given temporary accommodation—that number went up to 3,195 over the six-month period of the survey analysis. However, the analysis says that there are now more than 14,000 households in temporary accommodation in Scotland. Do we have a breakdown of that by local authority? There has been quite a significant increase in the past few months. Do we have any analysis of the capacity of properties, given that it looks as if there is a gap, with 14,000 households needing permanent accommodation? That appears to be a massive issue to be addressed. My second question is about the prevention of homelessness. I have constituents who are homeless and others who are worried about becoming homeless because they are living in inappropriate private rented accommodation. What work is being done to help local authorities and homelessness charities to support people to get the right kind of housing and prevent them from becoming homeless? We know that, once someone is homeless, it impacts on their health and resilience. I cannot imagine what it is like during a pandemic. Finally, Shelter has given us a useful briefing in which it asks for the Government to set up a national temporary accommodation task force. We have received useful information from local authorities, but it would be good to hear how that would tie together with the third sector organisations that are supporting our vulnerable constituents. 09:30
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Under agenda item 4, the committee will take evidence from the minister on the order. Andy Wightman has lodged a motion to annul this negative instrument, wh...
Kevin Stewart
SNP
I thank the committee for the opportunity to outline the work that led to the laying of the order. It is clear from the First Minister’s daily updates that t...
The Convener
SNP
We know that COSLA backs the extension, but what about front-line organisations that work with homeless people? Do they say that people are happy to remain i...
Kevin Stewart
SNP
As the committee is well aware, I have regular meetings with front-line organisations, because I want to know exactly what is going on out there. I met a num...
Sarah Boyack
Lab
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests about my former employment with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. Minister...
Kevin Stewart
SNP
There were a huge number of questions there, but I would expect nothing less from Ms Boyack. I will bring in Marion Gibbs to describe some of the detail of w...
Marion Gibbs (Scottish Government)
Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Our data collection is comprehensive. I am sure that Sarah Boyack has seen the publications, but we can extract and c...
The Convener
SNP
I think that you have. Minister, do you want to come back in?
Kevin Stewart
SNP
I think that we have covered almost all the bases. If we missed anything, we are happy to come back to the committee on it.
The Convener
SNP
Sarah, are you happy with that?
Sarah Boyack
Lab
Yes. I also asked about the proposed national temporary accommodation task force, but I will come back to that later if the minister has not said anything ab...
Andy Wightman (Lothian) (Ind)
Ind
Good morning, minister. It has been eight or nine months since the original order came into force in May 2020, and we are being invited to extend that again ...
Kevin Stewart
SNP
I remind the committee that we brought in the change, early, in May; we were not going to do that until the tail end of this parliamentary session. However, ...
Andy Wightman
Ind
I challenge the notion that the people on the front line to whom you have spoken regard that as being of some utility. Shelter Scotland has told us that the ...
Kevin Stewart
SNP
My officials talk to Shelter Scotland all the time. We have asked for examples of all such issues because I would follow them up. However, I do not have any ...
Andy Wightman
Ind
Finally, I have a quick question about the rights of families and pregnant women to suitable temporary accommodation. Are they being fully met?
Kevin Stewart
SNP
I expect local authorities to ensure that pregnant women and families with children are suitably accommodated. That is essential. From what I am seeing, we a...
Marion Gibbs
The unsuitable accommodation order still applies to pregnant women and families with children. We still have the normal rule that has been in place since 201...
The Convener
SNP
We now consider motion S5M-23878, in the name of Andy Wightman, which asks the committee to recommend that the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (S...
Andy Wightman
Ind
There have been two extensions to the temporary exemption from the order—first until 30 September 2020 and then until 31 January 2021. The instrument would e...
Sarah Boyack
Lab
I agree with Andy Wightman’s comments. People are going through horrendous experiences. We are in a difficult position, but I cannot support Andy’s proposal,...
Keith Brown
SNP
I do not agree with Andy Wightman’s position. He does not seem to accept that local authorities have responsibilities in relation to how they manage their pa...
Kevin Stewart
SNP
I agree with a great deal of what has been said by Ms Boyack and Mr Brown. Without doubt, as Ms Boyack said, vulnerability has been exacerbated by Covid. We ...
The Convener
SNP
I invite Andy Wightman to respond to the debate.
Andy Wightman
Ind
Time is pressing, so I will be brief. I accept that local authorities have their view and that the minister has his view. Whether homeless people should have...
The Convener
SNP
The question is, that motion S5M-23878, in the name of Andy Wightman, be agreed to. Are we agreed? I can see that we are not agreed, so there will be a div...
The Convener
SNP
The result of the division is: For 1, Against 6, Abstentions 0. Motion disagreed to.
The Convener
SNP
The committee has agreed not to recommend to Parliament that the instrument be annulled, and has made no recommendation to Parliament in respect of the instr...