Ben Ramage
The number of homeless people in North Lanarkshire increased by more than 10 per cent in just 12 months.
In the last year, the number of applications made for homelessness assistance shot up from 1,894 to 2,143, a 12 per cent jump.
The latest official figures, revealed in a report from the Scottish Government, showed the number of people living in temporary accommodation has increased by one per cent across the country from last year.
Motherwell and Wishaw MP Marion Fellows believes the Scottish Government is doing all it can to tackle homelessness after making access to homes a “top priority.”
She said: “Only this month, the First Minister announced that we would be building an additional 3,000 affordable homes on top of the 50,000 target – a minimum of 35,000 will be for social rent.
“This is compared to the six council homes built by Labour in their last term.
“The Tories’ Universal Credit and sanction regime is also leading to homelessness as people have their incomes slashed or removed entirely.
“The Scottish Government is spending £ 100million per year mitigating the Tories’ Bedroom Tax as well as investing £50m in the ‘Ending Homelessness Together’ fund.
“Through building homes, creating jobs and improving services, we are committed to tackling the unacceptable issue of homelessness.”
Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown branded the statistics “shocking” and said they have any concerns then to contact police and temper what they say online.”
Chief Inspector Leonard highlighted a recent case when a man was wrongly accused of theft on a Facebook group and a crowd turned up at his home as a result.
A significant police presence arrived at the scene when paedophile hunters appeared at the home of sex pest Jaap in Shotts.
Jaap escaped being sent to prison despite police finding hundreds of indecent images of children on his phone.
Forensic examination c y b e rc r i m e o f f i c e r s discovered 475 images featuring naked girls aged between one and 10.
Months earlier Jaap had been placed on the sex offenders’ register at Glasgow Sheriff Court for an undisclosed offence.
Meanwhile, Law was targeted at his home in Coltness.
Law was jailed for more than a year after sexually assaulting a 15- year- old schoolboy in 2013.
A Po l i c e S c o t l a n d spokesperson added: “The Sex Offender Community Disclosure scheme is another way members of the public can raise concerns about an individual in a child’s life and application can ultimately lead to a disclosure to the parent or carer.
“Application to this scheme is through the Police Scotland website where details are available of how to apply online.”