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MINISTERIAL FOREWORD
I am pleased to publish this statement as required by section 3 of the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003.
Devolved government - working with local authorities and the voluntary sector - has ensured Scotland has the most progressive homelessness legislation in the world. We are building a housing system which responds better to people's needs and which reflects the housing aspirations of everyone in Scotland.
We have in place an ambitious target to eradicate the distinction between 'priority' and 'non-priority' homeless households by the end of 2012. This will mean that all unintentionally homeless people are entitled to permanent accommodation at that time. This is a very challenging target and we remain committed to it.
Some of the challenges are already evident. Providing better rights under the homeless legislation means more people are rightly using it as a way to find a home. We must also balance the rights of those who need a home because they do not have one with those who want to move to better housing and work to ensure we have balanced, strong communities in Scotland. We will of course monitor our progress as we continue to work towards 2012 and issue revised guidance around the allocation of social lets to ensure there is sufficient local flexibility to retain balanced and sustainable communities, whilst also addressing landlords' responsibilities under the homelessness legislation.
Local authorities are key to preventing and tackling homelessness in Scotland as is partnership working to ensure we provide the housing and support that homeless people need to live in the community.
Meeting the 2012 target is dependent on adequate resources and the Executive has a central responsibility here. The private sector also has an important role to play through investment in housing stock including through low cost home ownership. Recipients of resources have the responsibility to deliver optimum solutions within available funding.
We are aiming to reduce the proportion of homeless households assessed as non-priority by half, by 31 March 2009, but we are also committed to progressing at a pace which is sustainable. We have therefore set out in the statement the range of information we will take into account in assessing local authorities' capacity to implement further legislative changes. A key factor is the impact on other households in housing need, as we are clear that local authorities must retain the ability to respond to these households also.
The supply of appropriate and affordable housing is key and we will maintain the significant investment already planned, ensuring that we reflect the implications of the target in future planning and resourcing of housing supply. We also emphasise the importance of preventing homelessness occurring in the first place - particularly among vulnerable groups such as young care leavers; providing support to prevent repeat homelessness; the meaningful engagement of the private sector and RSLs; and the provision of clear guidance to support legislative change. In all of these areas we recognise that appropriate resource provision will be required in order to ensure progress towards the target can be maintained.
We also set out the mechanisms through which we will continue to monitor progress in order to take decisions regarding future changes. In particular we will monitor local authorities' progress towards the administrative target outlined in the statement in order to identify particular issues in certain areas and consider how to address these at the local level.
We have a clear agenda for preventing and tackling homelessness in Scotland - one which is being taken forward in partnership with local authorities and others. This statement sets out the next steps which we and they will take in order to progress towards 2012.
I hope this is a statement we can all support.
Malcolm Chisholm MSP
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