Chamber
Plenary, 09 Nov 2000
09 Nov 2000 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Homelessness
I thank Fiona Hyslop for her initial comments. It is important that Parliament concentrates its efforts on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, which is homelessness at its most acute. I will answer her questions and attempt to give her the detail that she seeks.
My understanding is that there are about 2,200 hostel beds in Glasgow city in a combination of council, voluntary sector and commercial provision. We make it clear that our strategy is intended to achieve replacement of all inappropriate hostel provision in Glasgow, not only council hostel facilities. However, the problem is acute in some council facilities.
The pace that we intend to set is that we should achieve reprovisioning over five years. We know that reprovisioning takes time. If we consider the experience of Loretto Housing Association in reprovisioning of the Great Eastern Hotel, we start to understand the complex arrangements that must be made to protect the needs of individuals who are involved in the process.
We have planned a time scale of five years and we will make £12.5 million available over three years, as Fiona Hyslop rightly said. We must examine the total cost over the five years and we are already modelling figures to ensure that there will be adequate financial cover. The money is new and was identified during the spending review. I confirm that it has not been taken from any other allocation.
The project is complex and we will sit down with all the partners to take it forward. We intend that the Glasgow review team will continue as a steering group, because we welcome the advice and assistance that we have received from the council, the voluntary sector, the Big Issue in Scotland and Shelter Scotland. Those organisations have experience of how such programmes play out on the ground.
In addition, we are moving to appoint a project manager to ensure that the work is taken forward cohesively.
My understanding is that there are about 2,200 hostel beds in Glasgow city in a combination of council, voluntary sector and commercial provision. We make it clear that our strategy is intended to achieve replacement of all inappropriate hostel provision in Glasgow, not only council hostel facilities. However, the problem is acute in some council facilities.
The pace that we intend to set is that we should achieve reprovisioning over five years. We know that reprovisioning takes time. If we consider the experience of Loretto Housing Association in reprovisioning of the Great Eastern Hotel, we start to understand the complex arrangements that must be made to protect the needs of individuals who are involved in the process.
We have planned a time scale of five years and we will make £12.5 million available over three years, as Fiona Hyslop rightly said. We must examine the total cost over the five years and we are already modelling figures to ensure that there will be adequate financial cover. The money is new and was identified during the spending review. I confirm that it has not been taken from any other allocation.
The project is complex and we will sit down with all the partners to take it forward. We intend that the Glasgow review team will continue as a steering group, because we welcome the advice and assistance that we have received from the council, the voluntary sector, the Big Issue in Scotland and Shelter Scotland. Those organisations have experience of how such programmes play out on the ground.
In addition, we are moving to appoint a project manager to ensure that the work is taken forward cohesively.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Sir David Steel):
NPA
Good morning. The first item of business this morning is a statement by Jackie Baillie on street homelessness in Glasgow. I am afraid that a copy of the spee...
The Minister for Social Justice (Jackie Baillie):
Lab
I am pleased to be able to bring before Parliament the report of the Glasgow street homelessness review team, which has been conducting a fundamental and str...
Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP):
SNP
I thank the minister for her statement, which I understand is an extension of the announcement that was made in Glasgow in June. On behalf of the Opposition,...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
I thank Fiona Hyslop for her initial comments. It is important that Parliament concentrates its efforts on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, which is...
Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con):
Con
The Conservatives offer a general welcome to the report and the proposals that it contains, as well as to the—if not glossy, very handsome—brochure that arri...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
Bill Aitken is absolutely right to say that the Dickensian conditions that exist in Glasgow are no longer appropriate. We must do something about those condi...
Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab):
Lab
I thank the minister for her statement, which echoed much of the work on street homelessness that was undertaken by the previous ministerial team.I wish to r...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
I would welcome a meeting with Frank McAveety. He does not need to ask me formally for a meeting—I would meet him if he were to ask me informally.Frank McAve...
Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD):
LD
I apologise for arriving in the middle of the minister's statement—there were difficulties with my transport arrangements. On behalf of the Liberal Democrats...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
I will clarify the figures. Provision of hostel beds in Glasgow stands at about 2,200, with an average 90 per cent occupancy rate. The overall number of peop...
Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I also welcome the minister's statement. I particularly welcome her determination to tackle the fundamental structural problems that stand in the path of lon...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
We acknowledge the acute problems that exist in Glasgow. However, I stress that overall unemployment levels have dropped substantially. Since 1997, when the ...
Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP):
SSP
I, too, apologise to the minister for being late and for missing a large part of her statement. Unfortunately—or otherwise—I shared a carriage with Mr Brown....
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
I should point out that, since Labour came to power, the number of children in poverty in Scotland has dropped by 70,000, which is welcome.I accept that the ...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
I apologise to the members whom I have not called to speak. I gave priority to Glasgow members.