This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Rough Sleepers Initiative
15/12/2003
The number of people sleeping rough in
Scotland has dropped by a third since 2001 according to a
research report published today.
In October 2003, 328 people reported
sleeping rough compared to 500 people in May 2001.
The report also shows that there was a
significant drop - almost 19 per cent - in the last six
months alone.
Communities Minister Margaret Curran
said:
"This study shows that the number of
people sleeping rough has dropped by more than a third
since 2001.
"It proves that we were right to
invest in accommodation and support services for Scotland's
hardcore homeless.
"The Rough Sleepers Initiative is
delivering significant results and is making real progress
in helping to get people off the streets and into
accommodation.
"In 1999 an ambitious target of ending
the need to sleep rough by 2003 was set.
Today's figures show that we have missed
that target but only just. There was a surplus of beds at
the weekend count but a shortage of only 13 beds across the
whole of Scotland on the particular midweek night when the
survey was undertaken.
"While it is disappointing that there was
still a very small gap, it is an exceptional achievement by
all the organisations involved in ending rough sleeping and
they deserve a huge amount of credit.
"Drug use, alcoholism and mental
health problems can all contribute towards people ending up
sleeping rough.
These are not issues that can be solved
overnight. We will continue to work closely with local
councils who are just as determined as we are to end rough
sleeping.
"Great inroads have been made to
tackling homelessness in Scotland. Recent legislation has
given people ground-breaking new rights to accommodation
and services, and has paved the way for an ambitious
programme of action.
"Last month, we were awarded an
international human rights award for the work we have done
to tackle homelessness in Scotland.
I am proud of what we have achieved and look
forward to continuing to drive forward this work in 2004
and beyond."
The achievements of the Rough Sleepers Initiative
were supported by key homelessness campaigners across
the country.
Liz Nicholson, Director of ShelterScotland, said:
"The Rough Sleepers Initiative (RSI) has
certainly been one of the most significant Government
programmes of the last 10 years.
Without the level of funding and these new
services the number of rough sleepers would have continued
to rise and the problem would be very much worse than it
was in the early nineties."
This statement was supported by the Edinburgh
Campaign and Services for Homeless People, the Scottish
Council for Single Homeless, the City ofDundee Council, the Glasgow Homelessness Network, the Scottish
Churches Housing Agency and the Glasgow Simon
Community.
George Street Research carried out the
research on behalf of the Executive.
The research project consists of: a
twice yearly (Spring/Autumn) prevalence assessment of the
numbers of people sleeping rough in Scotland; a twice
yearly audit of direct access accommodation available to
people sleeping rough; and a qualitative assessment of how
demand and supply factors work together in local authority
areas.
The report showed that
the total number of individuals sleeping rough had dropped
from 500 in May 2001 to 328 in October 2003. There was
surplus accommodation on the weekend count however on the
midweek 'spotter' night the deficit amounted to a total of
13 spaces in five local authority areas. These were
Aberdeen, Argyll and Bute, Falkirk, Renfrewshire and South
Lanarkshire.
The Rough Sleepers
Initiative (RSI) is part of a package of measures to tackle
the root causes of homelessness and to end the need to
sleep rough. A total of £127 million of Executive funding
has been committed to tackling homelessness during the
present Spending Review period (2003-06). £40 million of
this funding to the RSI and an additional £11 million has
been made available for 2003-04.
An additional £44 million has been committed
over the next three years to tackle the problems of
Glasgow's outdated homeless hostels.
The Homelessness (Scotland) Act 2003
received Royal Assent on April 9, 2003.