AN action group set up to look at ways of tackling homelessness in Scotland is to be led by the head of the national charity working to tackle the problem.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, will chair the short-term group, which will consider how to end rough sleeping and transform the use of temporary accommodation.
The group will meet for the first time next month, with plans to minimise rough sleeping this winter among the first issues it will address.
It was established by the Scottish Government and is backed by a new £50 million fund that will be used to finance homelessness-prevention initiatives over the next five years.
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “We want to see an end to rough sleeping and the appointment of our Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group will lead the way in recommending the actions and legislative changes we need to take across all levels of government, to tackle homelessness and the use of temporary accommodation.”
He added: “We are committed to eradicating rough sleeping in Scotland and know this requires more than just the provision of housing - every individual has their own unique needs and challenges. To achieve this we need to ensure we have a joined-up approach across all sectors to improve prevention.”
Homelessness in Scotland is predicted to rise by more than 50 per cent in the next 25 years, according to a recent study by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
It found that, if current economic policies continue unchanged, the number of rough sleepers is expected to nearly double in that time from 800 to 1,500, while in the shorter term the number of people in unsuitable temporary accommodation is forecast to rise by a third in the next decade.
Conservative MSP Graham Simpson welcomed the formation of the group but called for more details on its membership and lifespan. “This is a major issue which concerns us all and shouldn’t be happening in a modern-day Scotland,” he said.
“We have a homelessness crisis, and preventing it will save money in the long-term.”
Labour’s Pauline McNeill called on rough sleeping to be made a priority. “I believe it’s about time there was a national strategy on homelessness,” she said. “There is much to welcome.”
Sparkes said: “I firmly believe we can end homelessness for good, we know the scale of the problem and this group will focus firmly on deliverable solutions which prevent, tackle and end homelessness for people.
“There’s some hard work to be done but I believe the expertise and knowledge of those on the group means we will be up to the challenge and I look forward to quickly getting to work.”
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