Housing debate briefing: 8 May 2008

Shelter welcomes the wide-ranging debate on housing issues in motion S3M-1848. The lynchpin of housing policy in Scotland is the drive towards meeting the 2012 target on homelessness. Shelter believes that this target should be at the heart of Scottish Government housing and social justice policy.

Key points:

• The 2012 target - to give all unintentionally homeless households an equal right to a home - is the jewel in the crown of Scottish housing policy.  As a nation, we should be proud of this internationally-acclaimed target and it is critical that it remains as focus of Scottish Government policy.
• However, progress towards 2012, and an 'interim' target in 2009, is variable across Scotland. The majority of local authorities are moving in the right direction, but slowly.
• New reporting arrangements for local authorities brought in under the Concordat mean that progress towards 2012 could be more difficult to track in future.
• Local authorities need to meet the target on two fronts: by creating more permanent social lets and taking action to prevent homelessness.
• Shelter urges the Government to commission an independent assessment of the homelessness reform programme, to ensure that it can be delivered by 2012.