WIPE OUT £33M HOMELESS DEBT
29k hard-up families facing huge bills
Nicola Sturgeon is facing growing pressure to write off a £33million debt owed by homeless people for emergency accommodation.
A petition has been lodged at Holyrood calling on ministers to use taxpayers money to pay the arrears to local authorities.
The debt involves 29,000 households with some hardup families owing over £1000.
Anyone made homeless in Scotland must pay for their ow n temporar y accommodation if they are not on housing benefit.
That can include a place in a hostel, B&B, flat or house.
But Gav in Yates of Homeless Action Scotland backed the petition and called for a debt amnesty.
He said: “We should not be saddling working people and families with signif icant debts because they had the misfor tune in f inding themselves homeless.”
In January, Glasgow-based Legal Services Agency (LSA) revealed councils were using debt collection agencies to pursue the arrears.
Its report – details of which were published in the Sunday Mail – prompted calls from furious campaigners for the charges to abolished and the massive eight-figure arrears written off.
Sean Clerkin, of the Scottish Tenants Organisation, lodged the petition which i s now being considered by
Holyrood’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee.
He said:” Most homeless people cannot pay the very high charges of their emergency accommodation, thus the very large debt of £ 33.3million
“The Scottish Government should step in to cover the costs of temporary accommodation and write off that debt.”
He would also like to see a claimed £ 500mi l lion Scottish Government budget underspend from last year used to pay off the charges.
The number of households in temporary accommodation in Scotland rose from 11,345 in 2019 to 13,192 in 2021
The LSA found that charges were excessive and housing in poor condition.
One client was charged £500 a week for a room in a hostel. Some homeless tenants were also billed for food, energy bills and admin fees.
The highest homeless debt is £12.7million in Edinburgh, with £5million in Glasgow, £ 4.8million due in North Lanarkshire and £4.4million by Highland Council.
The debt has been levelled against 29,641 households, many who became homeless in Covid.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:“We expect local authorities to follow the Code of Guidance on Homelessness before making any decision about charging for use of temporary accommodation.”