Prevention duties in Housing Bill ‘lack detail’
Report finds prevention duties in Housing Bill 'lack detail'.
Earlier this year SFHA gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee which was considering parts of the draft Housing Bill that cover homelessness, domestic abuse and fuel poverty. Following evidence sessions, the Committee has published its report on the draft measures with a number of recommendations.
Overall, the Committee recognised and supported the move away from crisis management and the focus prevention. However, alongside SFHA and others, is concerned by the lack of detail.
The Committee noted the broad support for the homelessness prevention principles and the challenges in moving towards prevention of homelessness. While they support the broad idea of the ‘ask and act’ duty, they would like to see more clarity from the Scottish Government on how this would work in practice. They further recommend that GPs might contribute to homelessness prevention and that Social Security Scotland should be included on the list of relevant bodies who have the duty to prevent homelessness. They also set out concerns about how people might demonstrate they are threatened with homelessness, particularly amongst young people.
In regard to domestic abuse, the Committee supports the measures set out in the Bill, including the requirement for RSLs to have domestic abuse policies, but have requested that the government sets out a timeframe confirming when the measures in the Domestic Abuse Protection (Scotland) Act (2021) will be implemented.
Stage 1 of the Bill is due to be completed on 29 November 2024 and the Committee, noting concerns about the costs set out in the Bill’s Financial Memorandum, have recommended further consultation and an update on costs at least two weeks in advance of the debate.
You can read the report below: