The Task Force agenda: abolishing priority need is the most radical step yet
Practitioner's views
Thankfully there are more supporters of the legislation than there are sceptics. At a series of seminars in 2002, practitioners told the Homelessness Monitoring Group of their support for the homelessness agenda. Their worries were based on their knowledge of homelessness and their view that the Scottish Executive must deliver the homes to match their ambitions. Since then less time has been spent listening to practitioners and we are in danger of prescribing policy from above, without fully understanding its impact on the ground. It is my hope that the Scottish Executive will reinstate an annual seminar with practitioners, giving the Homelessness Monitoring Group an opportunity to hear the concerns of those working on the frontline, making it much more likely that we'll reach 2012 from the point of view of consensus, and a real understanding of the impact of the Task Force's vision to lives of homeless people.
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The views expressed in the article are those of the author and not necessarily those of Shelter.
