STRICT benefit rules are leaving homeless people stuck “on hold” in temporary accommodation, unable to work, and unable to move on, according to Scotland’s Homeless and Rough Sleeping Action Group.
The group’s new report makes a number of recommendations to ensure temporary accommodation “consistently provides the crucial safety net it is intended to provide” instead of becoming a semi-permanent housing solution with little “move-on”.
A total of 10,873 households were classed as homeless on March 31, 2017, up from 5403 in 2003, although the figure has stabilised since 2010.
The group said the current set-up, where the majority of people in temporary accommodation claim housing benefit to cover rent, is a disincentive to residents taking up jobs as it could affect their benefits.
The report adds: “The high rents charged for accommodation create a ‘poverty-trap’ for households resident in temporary accommodation. This prevents homeless people accessing employment, training or further education, and ultimately moving out of homelessness.”
The group wants a flexible grant system for support for homelessness services and for the Scottish Government and councils to provide financial support for temporary accommodation costs.
It also recommends that a strong case is presented to the UK Government for temporary accommodation funding support to be devolved to Scotland.
A further recommendation is to set rent for such housing at a similar level to the Local Housing Allowance, which ranges from £72 to £123.62 weekly for a one-bedroom property depending on local authority area. Group chairman Jon Sparkes, the chief executive of homelessness charity Crisis, said: “Temporary accommodation should be a short-term response to each person’s homelessness before they quickly move into a permanent and secure place to call home.”
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said the Scottish Government accepted 15 of the group’s 21 recommendations, and would analyse the other six, which depend on funding being devolved.
“These recommendations focus on preventing the need for temporary accommodation in the first place, ensuring the right support and standards are in place where it is needed, and will play a vital role in meeting our commitment to end homelessness and transform temporary accommodation, backed by our £50 million fund,” he said.
Labour MSP Pauline McNeill said the Government couldn’t tackle the report’s proposals without looking at council cuts: “It is disgraceful for the government to accept many of these recommendations and agree to take them forward without acknowledging that our local authorities are starved of resources.”
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