Talks under way on permanent eviction ban to tackle homelessness
The First Minister of Scotland said discussions are still underway about introducing apermanentevictionbanina bid to reduce homeless after figures revealed it has the worst death rate in the UK.
National Records of Scotland (NRS) revealed earlier this week that the number of people who died in Scotland while homeless rose to more than 200 in 2019 – estimated to be 216 people – an increase of 11 per cent on the figure of 195 in 2018.
In response to these figures, MSP Alison Johnstone questioned Nicola Sturgeon on whether or not a permanent eviction ban will be in place to prevent further cases of homelessness during
First Minister Questions on Thursday.
Ms Sturgeon responded, by highlighting the “differences of opinion” on the best way to proceed and said that discussions are under way about whether or not to introduce a permanent ban on winter evictions or not.
Speaking in Parliament she said: “After discussions with Patrick Harvie and Andy Wightman, we want to reduce evictions and homelessness. But there are differences of opinion.”
She said concerns have been raised about a winter ban leading to a “spike” in evictions during the spring months following studies in France.
Ms Sturgeon confirmed the Scottish Government has currently extended the ban on evictions as the country is still under strict lockdown restrictions. "We have already extended the ban on evictions and we will do that again should that be necessary,” she said. "It’s really important."