Chamber and committees

Homelessness and rough sleeping

Letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, 14 December 2021

Dear Shona,

As part of its work programme, the Committee is exploring the breadth of its remit with stakeholders through a series of standalone thematic evidence sessions. These will be used to help determine the Committee’s priorities for future work. The first of these sessions focused on homelessness and rough sleeping and took place on 4 November.

Following this meeting, the Committee agreed to write to you to highlight the evidence heard and invite you to respond in writing to some of the points raised during discussion.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The Committee heard that one of the first priorities during the pandemic was to provide safe accommodation for anyone sleeping rough or staying in shelters, where people had no opportunity to socially distance. Effort was made to house all those in need, including people who would not otherwise be eligible for homelessness support.

Quick action and supportive policy measures and Scottish Government funding resulted in a reduction in rough sleeping; a step-change in multiagency working that enabled positive engagement with people who have complex needs and long histories of rough sleeping; empowerment of staff to respond with immediate action; and a pooling of expertise across the third and academic sectors via the Everyone Home Collective facilitated by the Homelessness Network Scotland.

We were told by Shelter Scotland that “the pandemic showed us that having greater resources, more staff and better joint working between the third sector and public bodies does actually work.”

Simon Community Scotland noted that people working on the front line have felt empowered to make decisions and take action. It was felt that institutional barriers, hierarchy and the need for pathways and protocols were removed to enable quicker action. We were told that “people saw opportunities rather than challenges or risks, and they took these opportunities.”

Lorraine McGrath at Simon Community Scotland suggested that much of the front-line empowerment has stayed in place as has the desire to maintain collaboration and joint-working, “however, a little bit of bureaucracy is starting to creep back in. People’s day jobs are taking priority again, and they are not so able to invest in working with colleagues across the sector.”

The Committee notes evidence that during the pandemic there was a “collective endeavour to see the person, not the problem” and that much more can be achieved when people work together. The Committee asks the Scottish Government and COSLA to outline how they will continue to work with the third sector to ensure that improvements in joint-working and localised decision making are maintained beyond the pandemic. The Committee believes it is vital that momentum and progress are not lost and that the personal and often complex circumstances of individuals are considered.

Health

Witnesses emphasised the complex needs and circumstances of many people who experience homelessness. It was highlighted that further integration of health and social care systems with housing and homelessness systems must be developed.

Lorna Campbell, Dumfries and Galloway Council said that “having a wider partnership, particularly with health and social care, and identifying threats of homelessness at an earlier opportunity would give us a better chance to work with individuals, whether through an economic response or by sourcing better or more sustainable housing earlier to help people”. Identifying issues earlier is key.

We were told that ‘there is not the right level of integration yet, but opportunity abounds right in front of us now, with the development of the national care service, to address this and create equity of access.”

Issues around multi-agency partnership working were also raised in relation to the justice and education systems, including work across services to support prison leavers to access accommodation.

The Committee notes that the Scottish Government’s consultation on a National Care Service for Scotland closed on 2 November and would welcome an update on how the Scottish Government plans to ensure that the Service better integrates the needs of homeless people in terms of access, delivery and signposting of advice and services.

The Committee seeks assurance that health and housing will be considered as interconnected issues which impact on poverty and social justice.

Budget

During the pandemic there was an increase in Scottish Government funding to tackle rough sleeping. Gordon MacRae, Shelter Scotland, noted that it is difficult to disaggregate exactly where the money came from, and how much of the money and staffing can be retained to ensure that progress is not lost.

Particular success was noted in Glasgow where “we have seen new staff, new casework teams and new property becoming available.” Simon Community Scotland told the Committee that rapid rehousing has been the underpinning factor in moving people from temporary accommodation and in addressing pressure that had built in the system before the pandemic. It was felt that the additional resource for more caseworkers facilitated this change.

We were told there is absolutely no doubt that implementation of rapid rehousing transition plans requires more resource. Dr Watts noted that transition was always going to take more than five-years, but appropriate long-term funding has not been guaranteed to secure this long-term vision.

Similarly, Gordon MacRae noted that the introduction of unsuitable accommodation orders was not accompanied with additional funding for implementation by local authorities. It was suggested that responsibilities need to be matched by additional resource to meet the new goals. He said, “if there is one thing that can be done, it is to connect resources to new policy requirements and duties from now on.”

The Committee notes evidence heard that local authorities have additional responsibilities which are not matched by additional funding. Witnesses felt that there is a need for local authorities to have a forward plan for funding to enable better planning. The Committee invites the Scottish Government’s comments on this evidence.

Long-term challenges

Despite progress in some areas during the pandemic, witnesses reminded the Committee that many of the key challenges faced are longstanding.

The Session 5 Local Government and Communities Committee conducted a thorough inquiry into homelessness, publishing it report in February 2018. This report found that not all homeless people were getting the services they were entitled to under legislation and highlighted concerns about the standards of temporary accommodation in some areas.

Whilst progress during the pandemic was noted in areas like Glasgow, the Committee was told that issues remain in many other areas including Edinburgh where there is a shortage of housing stock to allow rapid rehousing. Witnesses noted the number of households in temporary accommodation increased as a consequence of the pandemic and the average length of stay in temporary accommodation has also increased.

Simon Community Scotland told the Committee that “where we have good-quality emergency accommodation that can be rapidly accessed, and where control over that access lies with the front-line team, we can make things happen for people.” Where there is not available accommodation the challenges are even greater.

Maggie Brunjes, Homeless Network Scotland, also warned that the true impact of the pandemic may not yet be known. The statutory count of homelessness shows a slight reduction, but this may change as people experience “money worries, pressures on housing and employment and the end of the furlough scheme.”

Shelter Scotland still noted that despite some progress there remains a reluctance for people to engage with the homelessness system as misunderstanding of what local authorities can offer continues. It was also highlighted that there was a rise in statutory homelessness in the two years preceding the pandemic.

Witnesses commended homelessness policy in Scotland but indicated that there is an implementation gap. Shelter Scotland told us that “now is the moment to reflect on how we can get a whole-system approach” to tackle homelessness in Scotland.Furthermore, Shelter Scotland indicated that some “elements of the Ending Homelessness Together Annual Report have not yet been progressed–for example, a gendered analysis of the system and the embedding of a stronger ability for people to get recourse on their rights if those are denied.” Dr Watts also emphasised that the core focus should be on implementing all actions in the Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan over the longer-term.

As part of its pre-budget scrutiny the Committee has already highlighted issues around the implementation of unsuitable accommodation orders and the allocation of the ending homelessness together fund as well as residual funding from 2018-2021. We look forward to receiving your response on these points.

The Committee also asks the Scottish Government and COSLA if there has been any audit of all available accommodation, including emergency accommodation in each local authority, so that the type and volume of accommodation that could potentially be used as temporary accommodation is well understood.

The Committee notes publication of the Ending Homelessness Together: Annual report to the Scottish Parliament in October 2021. We would welcome any further updates which can be provided on how the Scottish Government will ensure that there are no gaps in terms of the aims and actions set-out in the Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan and its implementation. It would be helpful if the Scottish Government could clarify how long it expects implementation of the action plan to take and would welcome comments on whether actions could be accompanied by outcomes to help monitor progress.

The Committee asks the Scottish Government and COSLA if there are plans to review the implementation of all rapid rehousing transition plans within their 5-year lifespan.

Prevention of homelessness

Dr Watts noted that prevention of homelessness falls into three categories: lowering the risk of homelessness for the population at large; targeted prevention for those who are at immediate risk of becoming homeless; and preventing people who have already experienced homelessness from experiencing it again.

During the pandemic changes were made to legislation to protect tenants from eviction which were also discussed during the Committee’s session in relation to homelessness prevention. Dr Watts suggested that phasing out of the temporary changes should be slow and carefully managed to ensure that proper advice can be provided and landlords take responsibility for ensuring that evictions do not lead to homelessness.

Maggie Brunjes, Homeless Network Scotland, commented “we understand that there are circumstances, particularly in cases of antisocial behaviour, in which eviction cannot be prevented, but there can be no grounds for expecting people to leave a household and have no roof over their heads.”

The Committee notes that the Scottish Government is consulting on protection against evictions and pre-action requirements for evictions on the grounds of rent arrears in private rented housing as part of its consultation on Covid recovery.

The Committee asks the Government to comment on how it can ensure that evictions from private rented housing do not lead to homelessness.

The Committee also requests an update on how the recommendations from the homelessness prevention review group will be progressed and when the Government’s intended homelessness prevention legislation will be brought forward.

Child Poverty

The Committee wrote to you on 22 November to provide comment on the Scottish Government’s second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan. In this response the Committee stated that tackling homelessness should have greater prominence in the delivery plan.

In evidence the Committee heard that there has been a 75% increase in the number of children in temporary accommodation since 2014. Some temporary accommodation was described as over-crowded and not suitable for women and children. It was noted that there needs to be a whole system approach to avoid unintended consequences, with more effort required to gather the lived experience of women and children going through the housing system to understand their needs better. 

The Committee reiterates comments made in response to the second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan that more must be done to reduce the number of children in temporary accommodation. The Committee asks the Scottish Government to comment on evidence heard that a whole system approach, informed by lived experience, must be taken to tackle homelessness.

I look forward to hearing from you and would welcome a response by 21 January 2021. I am also copying this letter to COSLA for response.

Yours sincerely

Neil Gray MSP
Convener, Social Justice and Social Security Committee