Council failing in legal duty to house homeless, report says

Glasgow City Council is not housing homeless people quickly enough, according to a report by the regulator.

The Scottish Housing Regulator found that in 2016/17 the local authority only housed around half of those it had a legal duty to house. Charity Shelter Scotland said radical action'' was needed to ensure people's needs are met.

The council said it was working on a comprehensive improvement plan''.

The regulator found in 2016/17, the local authority had a duty to make an offer of temporary or emergency accommodation to households on 10,350 occasions, but made an offer in only 60% of these cases.

It owed a duty to secure settled accommodation for 4,195 households but only did so for 2,405.

Meanwhile the regulator noted the council's target of securing 3,000 homes for people who are homeless each year is too low for the number of people it assesses that it has a duty to house.

Its report states: The Council and its partners have made some important improvements to the process

they use to find homes for people, and they are working together more effectively.

That said, the pace of change has been slow and not all people who are homeless are getting appropriate outcomes as quickly as possible.''

The report makes a series of recommendations including a clear primary objective'' to move homeless people into settled accommodation, a review of targets for housing homeless people and a streamlined approach to assessment and referral.

Commenting on the report, Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown said: Radical and comprehensive action is now needed to ensure homeless people get the services they need, are entitled to and deserve in Glasgow.

We hope this report will force Glasgow City Council to sit up and take the meaningful action needed so that they meet their statutory duties for all homeless people in the city.

Shelter Scotland has for years been raising concerns about the experience of homeless people in Glasgow.

In particular, we have serious concerns that Glasgow City Council is too often failing to meet its legal duty to find suitable homes for homeless households and that too many people are being turned away from the services they have a legal right to. These unacceptable practices must stop now.''

A spokeswoman for the council said: We are pleased the report acknowledges the important improvements that are being made in Glasgow's homelessness system.

The report also identifies many areas of positive practice in Glasgow's homelessness system and also the scale of the challenge faced by the city's support services.

As the regulator recognises, the council and its partners are working together more effectively to support those affected by homelessness.

However, we accept that improvements within the system are still required to ensure people who present as homeless can move into a permanent home as soon as possible.''

The spokeswoman said the council was working on a improvement plan, and will study the report's recommendations closely.