Crisis response to Stage Two of Housing Bill

Crisis has urged MSPs to vote for new, stronger measures to prevent homelessness, ahead of the Housing Bill Stage Two vote in the Scottish Parliament.

Based on recommendations from Crisis, the Housing Bill contains new measures to help prevent more people being forced into homelessness, with amendments expected to be scrutinised by MSPs on the Social Justice and Social Security Committee next week.

Ahead of the session, Crisis urged MSPs from every party to back new amendments, published today, aimed at strengthening the legislation.

Introduced to parliament last year, the Housing Bill contains new legal duties on local authorities and public services operating in health, justice, education and beyond, which would require them to ask someone at risk of homelessness about their housing situation, and act to offer support if required.

The Bill would also extend the time period in which someone at risk of homelessness is entitled to access support to help keep their home, from 56 days up to six months.

New amendments, published today, will give greater clarity on what is required of public services to help prevent homelessness, while also providing those at risk of homelessness the right to review the decisions made on an offer of support.

The Scottish Government also agreed to provide £4m in funding, to support a pilot scheme to test how the proposed changes would work in practice.

Maeve McGoldrick, Head of Policy and Communications for Crisis Scotland, said: “Time and again on our frontline services, we see examples of people who have been forced into homelessness in circumstances where we know, that with the right help, it could have been prevented.

“We strongly welcome the proposed amendments, made by the Scottish Government, to strengthen the prevention measures outlined in the Bill. We believe these measures will ensure the new prevention duties are much more robust, that the infrastructure needed to make this work will be in place, and that that the individual will have stronger rights when it comes to good quality support. 

“We are urging MSPs from across the chamber to back the sections of the Bill aimed at preventing homelessness – if enacted properly, these new protections could help Scotland build one of the most progressive homelessness systems in the world.”