Chamber and committees

I look forward to that.

During the pandemic, we saw significant reductions in the levels of homelessness across Scotland and in the capital. I hope that the legislation will continue to enable public bodies to focus their resources and respond in a way that is similar to the response that we saw to the public health emergency during the pandemic. A multisector response to the pandemic facilitated much of that welcome work and should be promoted and expected, as I hope that it will be.

As I said, ending homelessness is not a straightforward task. Having enough homes for everyone is essential, but that is not enough in itself. When someone becomes homeless, it is often due to an obstacle in their life that they have found hard to overcome. That can range from experiences as a result of trauma, addiction, substance misuse, mental health problems or relationship breakdown, for example. Models such as housing first and more assisted living can and should be part of that template for rehousing and supporting people to overcome their personal challenges.

That is why the Scottish Conservatives have called for the roll-out of housing first to be accelerated across all Scotland’s local authorities. The cuts that councils face from ministers in the coming budget are a major concern. I hope that leaders across local authorities will not make savings, which they could look to make, from homelessness services or the third sector organisations that support people.

Access to health services and social care is another critically important issue. The homelessness death rate in Scotland is currently double that of England and Wales. There were an estimated 256 deaths of people experiencing homelessness in Scotland in 2020. People who are homeless are three to six times more likely to die prematurely, which is unacceptable and must be addressed. All of us in the Parliament must work to address that.

Research by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland suggests that people who are experiencing homelessness continue to face stigma and additional barriers to accessing health and addiction services. That is why I also believe that we need a review of access to homeless health and social care services, and I ask Parliament to support that by agreeing to my amendment to the motion.

Ending homelessness and rough sleeping in Scotland at the earliest opportunity, and by the end of this parliamentary session, is an admirable goal, but we all need to work to ensure that the action that we want to see becomes a reality.

I move amendment S6M-03018.2, to insert at end:

“; is committed and united in the shared public responsibility to eradicate rough sleeping in Scotland at the earliest opportunity or by 2026; notes that surveys have suggested that over 5,000 people in Scotland have reported sleeping rough at least once per year, with the homelessness death rate in Scotland being double that of England and Wales, with an estimated 256 deaths of people experiencing homelessness in Scotland in 2020; further notes with concern the number of children living in temporary accommodation in Scotland, which has reached its highest levels since records began, along with the number of councils reporting the breaching of unsuitable accommodation orders; notes that research has demonstrated the link between increased interactions with health and social care services and the risk of people becoming homeless; calls on the Scottish Government to help support people into safe and stable housing as quickly as possible with an acceleration in the roll-out of Housing First across all Scottish local authorities; notes the research by the Health and Social Care Alliance that suggests that people experiencing homelessness continue to face stigma and additional barriers to accessing health and addiction services, and calls on ministers to support a review of access to homeless health and care services.”

The Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee has been told, among other statistics, that between 5 per cent and 8 per cent of people who need support will need assisted living support. What is the Government’s view on that and how such support can be funded? It is a really important issue for which local authorities need additional support.

Concerns have been expressed about the proposal to remove the right to permanent accommodation and replace it with a right to stable accommodation. All of us would be concerned if that were to be a dilution of Scotland’s statutory housing rights. Will the cabinet secretary confirm that that will not happen, and will she ensure that hard-won housing rights are protected?

Finally, before I hand back to the convener—

Thank you, convener. I appreciate that.

Mr Strang, I was taken with what you said earlier about your work in mental health support in Dundee and the inquiry that you undertook there. Would you support a legal right to rehabilitation for people in Scotland? Is that a piece of work that the task force will start to look at? As you highlighted, it is very important that we make sure that people have the right to access those services and that they can take those decisions for themselves and drive their treatment. What is your view on that?

Good morning. I have a few questions about the naloxone programme and Community Pharmacy Scotland. We all support the naloxone programme, but I have been frustrated by the progress of the work of the task force in making a difference in that respect. Why is naloxone not included in the national supply line for pharmacists to access through Pharmacy First? On the task force’s recommendations, why has a single record for patients not been developed, given that we have a public health emergency, and given the improvement in outcomes that that measure could deliver?

Good morning, Mr Strang. Thank you for joining us. I will ask about a few issues that relate to Community Pharmacy Scotland’s role in the public health crisis. In your opening statement, you highlighted naloxone. Why has some of the work that was meant to be done on access to single records for individuals not been done?

That is helpful. Perhaps I will take up that detail with the Minister for Drugs Policy in our next evidence session.

All of us at the meeting support the naloxone programme, but it has not gone where we wanted it to. Part of the frustration about the task force is that some of the key recommendations that the Government accepted do not seem to have been implemented. I fully understand that you are new to the role, but can you tell me why those discussions with Community Pharmacy Scotland have not taken place?

It would be helpful to get an update on timescales. I was a member of the Health and Sport Committee in session 5, and we understood that the work would be moved forward quite quickly. The opportunity to provide some sort of traffic-light warning system for patients was discussed, but that does not seem to have materialised. I hope that that will become a genuine priority and that progress will be made on that.

I turn to review of available treatments, on which I have corresponded with you for some time. I am thinking about the potential availability of treatment such as neuro-electric therapy. Where is the Government with the work to enable people to feel that they are genuinely able to take decisions about what is best for them and their families, given where they are with their addictions, and to support their decision making and empowerment?

I thank the witnesses for those answers. Tony Cain is right that it is an art form, and not necessarily a science.

Homes for Scotland’s useful briefing ahead of today’s meeting talked about flexibility and what that should look like. It highlighted that alternative sites could be given planning permission for housing if those that are allocated in local development plans prove not to be deliverable. If there is no change in how the estimates are formed, what would such flexibility look like? How can we direct new developments to where they are needed? What are the witnesses’ thoughts on that? I will bring in Nicola Barclay, as I mentioned Homes for Scotland’s call for flexibility.