Action group set to end rough sleeping
Political Correspondent AN action group has been set up by the Scottish Government to end rough sleeping on Scotland’s streets.
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart announced the move and that the group will be chaired by Jon Sparkes, the chief executive of housing campaign group Crisis
He also announced a £50million ending Homelessness Together fund to back initiatives to prevent people becoming homeless.
Mr Stewart said the action group would begin work next month and its first task would be to look at ways of reducing rough sleeping this winter.
It would investigate how to eradicate rough sleeping for good and how to bring about an end to homelessness in Scotland.
Earlier this year the Evening Times reported on rough sleeping in Glasgow and the organisations trying to help people who are on the streets.
We also asked the City Council to take action to end the need for rough sleeping on Glasgow’s streets.
Mr Stewart said: “Everyone has seen people sleeping rough. I am simply not willing to accept this.”
He said the UK Government welfare reforms are making life more difficult for people, making homelessness more likely for some and said this was a choice they had made.
He said the new group would also look at improving the provision and quality of temporary accommodation and reduce the time people spend in unsuitable accommodation like B&Bs.
Mr Stewart 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.”
Mr 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.”