Chamber and committees

The duty of a local authority is to provide accommodation and there is also an existing housing support duty for those who are assessed as homeless or who are threatened with homelessness. New duties give the opportunity to ensure that we get the right support to people more quickly. However, I recognise Mr Griffin’s point about wraparound care, and I am happy to discuss that point with him.

As I touched on, section 41(4) of the bill amends section 32 of the 1987 act. We can discuss the detail of that. We briefly spoke yesterday and said that we would meet to discuss the issue further. We have offered to meet you and Roz McCall to discuss the principle of whether it is best to do that through legislation or through guidance.

As I said, work is already under way in that regard between the Scottish Government, the Promise Scotland and partners. I want to make sure that the amendments that have been lodged are compatible with the discussions that are going on, hence, Ms Don-Innes and I would probably be able to meet Roz McCall and Pam Duncan-Glancy to discuss that in a more strategic manner. I am happy to take that forward. The offer is there to meet before we get to stage 3. Members will obviously be entitled at that stage to press their amendments, but I am asking them not to press at this stage and to take part in discussions with me and Ms Don-Innes on the points that have been raised.

The Scottish Government is committed to keeping the Promise to care-experienced young people. We recognise the current housing challenges that care leavers encounter, and we will work with our partners, including local authorities, on the best way to reduce those challenges.

That includes plans to refresh guidance for local authorities and corporate parents on supporting young people who are leaving care, to improve the information and financial support that is available and to continue engagement with the Department for Work and Pensions on how young people who are leaving care access its services in Scotland.

Accordingly, I urge members not to press or move any amendments in the group. If the amendments are pressed or moved, I ask members of the committee not to support them.

The amendments in this group seek to make it clear that the interests of children must be taken into account when local authorities exercise functions in relation to the provision of social housing, and when relevant bodies exercise functions in relation to

“people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness”.

Although I agree with the purpose behind the amendments, I cannot support them as they would not add to existing statutory duties that have been imposed on the bodies in question. I will go into detail on that a little later.

Statistics highlight both the need and the potential for homelessness prevention duties to mitigate the risk of homelessness for children and young people. Ahead of stage 2, I have held many meetings, some of them as recently as last night. However, I have not had a chance to engage with Mr O’Kane or Mr Griffin on that particular point, to find out more about their amendments.

In my role, I do not engage directly with children, but I have engaged with organisations that work with and advocate for children and young people. Earlier this month, I was at the launch of Shelter Scotland’s new report. Yesterday, as Mr Griffin mentioned, members held a debate on children’s experiences of temporary accommodation; the report reveals the impact of long periods in such accommodation, and it gave me particular insight into those experiences and the importance of children having settled homes.

I cannot support amendment 1078, in the name of Paul O’Kane. The provision of social housing is a function of local authorities and housing associations, and it is for each local authority to set out its strategies, priorities and plans for the delivery of housing in its area. There is no statutory duty on local authorities or registered social landlords to provide more housing. The Scottish Government’s role is to support local social landlords in providing affordable accommodation in accordance with set standards and to ensure that landlords’ performance is monitored through the Scottish Housing Regulator. Other tools include the strategic housing investment plan—or SHIP—which was mentioned earlier, and the local housing strategy. I would be happy to engage further with Mr O’Kane between stages 2 and 3, and I extend that offer to him.

I agree with Mark Griffin that every child deserves a safe and warm place to call home—that is a fundamental human right—but I cannot support amendments 1053 to 1056 and 1059 and the other amendments in Mr Griffin’s name. However, that is only because the substance of his amendments is already provided for in statute. I offer to meet Mr Griffin to discuss the issue further, including how we might enforce those aspects.

I think that I agreed with Mr Griffin on the principle of where he was going with the amendments. However, when it comes to enforcement, statutory provision is already in place. Nevertheless, I am happy to engage with Mr Griffin and also Ms Duncan-Glancy between stages 2 and 3 to see what we can do on that particular point.

I will come on to that in the next part of my speech.

On Ms Duncan-Glancy’s question, under section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, local authorities are required to

“safeguard and promote the welfare of children ... in need ... by providing a range and level of services appropriate to the children’s needs.”

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was incorporated into Scots law in December 2024. Under section 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, public authorities, including local authorities, have a duty to respect the requirements of the convention. That means that they must consider the best interests of children in all decisions that affect them, and ensure that children’s views are heard and taken into account.

I am happy to meet both members on that point.

I will come back to that. The next sentence that I read out will cover that point.

Under section 32A of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, local authorities must already have regard to the best interests of children in fulfilling their duties under sections 31 and 32 of that act towards people who have dependent children and who are either homeless or threatened with homelessness. Section 32A also requires local authorities to ensure that accommodation provided for children in those circumstances is suitable for occupation by them.

As I have said, I am happy to engage with Mr Griffin and Ms Duncan-Glancy on how we might enforce that aspect. The Scottish Government’s code of guidance on homelessness guides local authorities on how to meet their duties relating to people who are threatened with or are experiencing homelessness. The code is clear that homelessness services should be offered on the basis of a thorough assessment of the household’s needs. Local authorities should also have regard to the Scottish Government’s guidance from 2011 on acting in the best interests of children who face homelessness.

We expect relevant bodies to meet their existing legal duties relating to children as part of the delivery of new homelessness prevention duties. We have worked constructively with MSPs and stakeholders to strengthen the bill and ensure that the homelessness prevention measures are as robust as possible, so that they can protect all children in households.

I will bring in Will Tyler-Greig in a wee second on that. We discussed that issue last week with the housing to 2040 strategic board and the cabinet secretary, and we will discuss the matter in the next month or two and come back with further details.

The key objective throughout is to maximise the impact that the programme will have. Each local authority has the planning assumptions that I talked about. Discussions are going on with local authorities on, for example, where the sites are that can be brought forward the quickest. Those discussions go on regularly, but there needs to be a focus on what we can deliver as soon as possible. The work on stalled sites will inform that, and we will try to bring forward any stalled sites that can be delivered as quickly as possible.

There is, obviously, the investment in the affordable housing supply programme and building houses. The balance has to come around voids, acquisitions and empty homes, because we can bring those forward at a much quicker rate, which can reduce the temporary accommodation pressures as soon as we possibly can. Discussions are taking place on that.

We have talked about the £40 million of acquisition funding. Last year, £40 million was already indicated, so the question is what we do with that £40 million this year. Again, that discussion is going on with five local authorities and others.

Another element of the budget is capital funding and financial transactions. I talked about charitable donations, for example, and about mid-market rents. The key questions that are being looked at are where we can maximise opportunities and how we can bring additional funding into Scotland.

The balance will change in relation to different local authorities. The nuanced approach that the convener talked about is really important. We have good input on that through discussions with colleagues on the housing to 2040 strategic board, which we will continue to have. It comes back to some of the really nuanced discussions, for example about Glasgow, where, as I said, larger families—with four, five or six kids—live in temporary accommodation. How can we target that? If we do so through acquisitions, buying a house for a larger family will cost more than buying a house for somebody with two kids.

Another key thing is the capacity to do so, and discussions are taking place about that capacity in Glasgow. In the past, for example, we have worked with developers to see whether they have properties that the local authority can buy and use. We are looking right across the gamut of possible funding opportunities, but the key things are how to maximise the impact, reduce the pressures as soon as possible and not lose out on what we need to do to build homes.

A key focus in how we deliver that, which I have talked about, is voids, acquisitions and empty homes. However, we should not forget the wider work that goes on, and I will ask Will Tyler-Greig to come in and talk a wee bit more about that.