Homelessness Services (Glasgow)
(Glasgow) (Lab):
The First Minister will be aware of the tragic death of a
homeless man in Glasgow at the weekend. He was found dead in a
car park in freezing conditions. That was reported on the day
that Shelter Scotland took out a full-page advert on the front
of the Herald newspaper,
highlighting the deaths of 47 homeless people in Glasgow over
the past year. This is a
scandal that shames Scotland and shames Scotland’s largest
city.
Shelter Scotland is taking court
action against Glasgow City Council because it is ignoring its
legal requirement to find accommodation for homeless people. As
a Glasgow , does the First Minister support
Shelter Scotland in its action to ensure that Glasgow City
Council does not ignore homeless people and leave them to sleep
on the streets of Glasgow, which is a scandal?
The First Minister ():
For reasons that I know that will understand, I will not
comment on on-going legal action, but I will say that I expect
all local authorities, including Glasgow City Council, to meet
their legal requirements.
The Scottish Government is
absolutely determined to ensure, working with local
authorities, that no person has to sleep rough on the streets.
We are investing heavily in improving and expanding
homelessness services. That includes the provision of support
for rapid rehousing and the housing first approach.
With regard to the tragic death of
the individual spoke about, although this in
no way takes away from the tragedy of that death, my initial
information is that that person was not homeless. However, a
police investigation is under way that will require to
establish the circumstances fully.
Since that incident, my officials
have been in touch with stakeholders locally to look at what
more we can do. We have offered to increase Glasgow City
Mission’s funding so that the winter night shelter can be
opened earlier. Those discussions are on-going. We have also
provided funding for more outreach services.
The Scottish Government is
determined to work with local authorities to tackle the issue.
I make no bones about this: in Scotland or any other country,
as long as one person is homeless or sleeping rough on our
streets, we have more work to do to make sure that we have the
services in place to ensure that that is not necessary. We will
continue that work.
