Glasgow Times

MSPs call for seven-day time limit on homeless B&B use

- BY STEWART PATERSON Political Correspond­ent

A TIME limit on homeless people living in B&B accommodat­ions should be imposed, according to a cross party group of MSPs.

The MSPs backed the campaign by charity Crisis whose research found the use of B&Bs had a detrimenta­l effect on people’s lives.

The survey found that 84 per cent of 74 people living in B&Bs, hotels or unsupporte­d hostels felt isolated by their living situation.

Almost half said they had no cooking facilities in the accommodat­ion.

The group, which comprises of a Labour, Conservati­ve, LibDem and Green MSP, has called for a seven-day limit on the use of B&Bs to house homeless people.

Andy Wightman (Green Party), Pauline McNeill (Scottish Labour), Alex Cole-Hamilton (Scottish Liberal Democrats) and Graham Simpson (Scottish Conservati­ves) issued a joint statement suggesting changing the law so that homeless people are moved on from unsuitable temporary accommodat­ion into more settled housing after one week.

The statement read: “To end homelessne­ss, we need a bold approach. We believe that legislatin­g to place a time limit of seven days for the period someone is placed in unstable temporary accommodat­ion (UTA) will demonstrat­e to the Scottish people we are serious about achieving this goal for all homeless people.

“The Scottish Government must maintain the momentum to uphold Scotland’s place as a world-leader in tackling the injustice of homelessne­ss.

“We therefore ask the First Minister to prioritise this change in the law in the upcoming Ending Homelessne­ss Together Action Plan.”

Crisis said it was pleased to see politician­s unite on the issue.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Living in limbo in unsuitable emergency accommodat­ion prevents people from moving on with their lives.

“It is heartening that this has been recognised across the political divide and I welcome this cross-party approach to call for the issue to be tackled urgently.”

The Scottish Government will publish its action plan on tackling homelessne­ss this week.

It is expected to set out a five-year programme, in partnershi­p with local authoritie­s and others, to address the issue of temporary accommodat­ion.

In Glasgow, bed and breakfast accommodat­ion is used as part of a range of methods of housing homeless people.

The B&B option, according to the Glasgow homelessne­ss Network, is used “for a short period of time”.

Other methods are temporary furnished flats with thousands of properties across the city rented from social landlords and the private sector to house people who are homeless.

Supported accommodat­ion is also used where help is provided for other issues that lead to homelessne­ss including addiction, mental health and domestic abuse.

On December 31, 2016, there were almost 5000 children in households registered as homeless in Scotland.

 ??  ?? A time limit for the use of B&B accommodat­ion for homeless people has been called for
A time limit for the use of B&B accommodat­ion for homeless people has been called for

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom