Scotland has a new regulator, a new minister and a new homelessness strategy in the making.Mahua Chatterjee assesses its chances of success
If one had to name the groups who consistently fall through the housing provision net, then homeless people would probably top the list. The bureaucracy that surrounds finding accommodation for those ‘of no fixed abode’ is enough to make one’s head spin.

However, things may be starting to change north of the border following the launch of Scotland’s homelessness task force report.

This is one of the most eagerly anticipated events since the formation of Communities Scotland last year, which pledged to “bring a fresh approach to community regeneration though neighbourhood renewal, empowerment and housing investment”.

The members of the task force spanned the housing sector, with representatives from the Scottish Council for Single Homelessness, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Communities Scotland and Shelter Scotland among others.

Their recommendations will no doubt be debated at the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland’s annual conference in Dundee this week.

The report highlights the fact that between 1989/90 and 1999/00 the number of applications to Scottish local authorities under the homeless legislation rose from 29,068 households to 46,023.

Although the Scottish Executive warns that the figures need to be treated with some caution because of different recording practices, they still serve to give a snapshot of the problem.

In some areas there is an acute shortage of housing, or affordable housing for rent, while in others there is enough housing but it is of a particularly poor quality. Glasgow – with its high percentage of homeless people – is singled out as one example of this problem.

The report suggests that in regions of high demand, especially areas of economic growth and rural regions, an “absolute increase in the supply of affordable housing is required”, whereas in low demand areas the priority should be to build reasonable quality housing in places where people want to live, and to recreate demand through improvements in the quality of existing housing. Housing for which there is no demand should be demolished.

It also lists three specific areas in which improvements to housing are needed.

First, there should be more affordable, entry-level housing and homes for young people who are seeking their own accommodation for the first time.

Secondly, the report stresses the importance of rent guarantee and deposit schemes in order to enable people of limited means to access the private rented sector. It recommends that all local authorities provide access to private rented schemes by 2004. National guidance should be available on these schemes.

Thirdly, there is a need for furnished tenancies. For many homeless people, offers of unfurnished accommodation are wholly inadequate as they lack the means with which to buy basic furniture. In such instances an unfurnished tenancy is unlikely to remain viable.

Glasgow council is highlighted as one authority that has developed a furnished tenancy programme as part of its work to deal with rough sleeping and to move away from the use of large-scale hostels. The report calls on other authorities to adopt a similar approach within a national framework, with funding from Communities Scotland.

Such a framework would involve a future grant scheme under which housing providers could apply for grants if the accommodation is to be let to a homeless person. The grant should be enough to provide the basics of a bed, curtains, floor coverings, cooker and fridge, and the money would be claimed back from the provider if the property ceases to be let to a homeless person.

It also suggests that a Scottish furniture recycling network should be established with a national coordinator, support office and website.

The report proposes a target of 1,000 additional furnished tenancies a year for five years, at which point further need should be assessed. Communities Scotland should be in charge of the overall programme and should distribute resources to local authorities after assessing their needs and their homelessness strategies.

Focusing on the scope for using choice-based lettings as a way of housing rough sleepers, the report accepts that there may be benefits, but warns that the schemes must not operate in a way which, “denies homeless people the opportunity of participating”, or in ways which restrict the stock of housing available for homeless people.

The report also recommends the suspension of the 1987 Act covering local connections – whereby one local authority can refer a homeless household to another authority if it believes that the household has a connection there.

However, the Scottish Executive should have a statutory power to reactivate it – either for Scotland or individual councils if they have particular housing demand pressures.

This has a particular significance for refugees. Asylum has become a key issue for the country ever since the murder of a Kurdish man on Glasgow’s Sighthill estate last summer provoked a spate of riots and demonstrations.

While some refugees are happy to remain in their NASS accommodation once decisions on their applications are made, the report notes that for some this is not acceptable because they may have fears about safety, or wish to move closer to relatives and friends.

Therefore, those refugees granted leave to remain in the UK should be offered alternative accommodation if they do not want to remain in the property funded under the NASS arrangements.

And if an asylum seeker wishes to apply under the homelessness legislation to a Scottish local authority, then that authority should not reject the application on the ground that living in NASS accommodation constitutes a local connection.

Of course fundamental to the strategy’s effectiveness is, as always, funding. Social justice minister Iain Gray has announced an extra £11m over the next two financial years to help implement the recommendations. There will be another £3m in 2002/03 and another £8m the following year.

That makes a grand total of £22m. But Shelter Scotland estimates that the total costings for developing the strategies in the report are more in the region of £40-50m.

The charity has warned that failure to back ideas with hard cash will result in politicians being charged with stifling solutions to tackling homelessness.

Liz Nicholson, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “The biggest challenge for the Scottish Executive will be finding the money to pay for it (the new initiatives). As the executive prepares for its major spending review this summer it needs to back fine words with hard cash.”

Although the charity has welcomed the money made available so far, it believes that the necessary finances are “still some way short”.

And no one will know about the full impact on costing until the strategies highlighted in the report have been developed.

It seems that overall the report has received a positive response. However, it is time for the talking to stop and the action to start.

The proposals represent the best chance for the country to help some of society’s most socially excluded people, and if it fails then we could see still more falling through a net that is becoming ever wider.