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Minister admits work to do on homelessness |
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Wednesday, 02 April 2008 |
Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell today admitted that Scotland still has lot of work to do on the issue of homelessness.
Maxwell said: "Of course we cannot afford to be complacent, because
Glasgow – and Scotland – still faces considerable challenges when it
comes to providing homeless people with the support they need."
According to the charity Shelter over 40,000 households were accepted
by their local authority as homeless or potentially homeless in
Scotland in 2006-07. This is an increase of 26.5 per cent since 1997-98.
The Minister was speaking at Fordneuk Street – one of Glasgow’s new
homeless facilities – to mark the end of the city’s Hostels
Decommissioning Programme. Three large all-male hostels have been shut
down to be replaced by smaller units believed to be better for the
residents. The new Fordneuk Street hostel has 38 ensuite rooms for men
and women with alcohol abuse problems.
Maxwell said that the new shelters were the way forward in tackling
homelessness: "There’s no doubt that the modernised facilities now in
place are far superior to the ‘warehouse’ hostels which preceded them
and they give us a strong base from which to continue making progress."
The closure of the 'warehouse' style shelters has been funded by the
Scottish Government over the last three years for a cost of £60
million.
Maxwell said: "All those involved in the Glasgow Homelessness
Partnership have played their part and deserve credit for this
achievement… more targeted facilities which aim to address homeless
people’s individual difficulties and get their lives back on track."
Councillor Elaine McDougall, Glasgow City Council’s executive member
for social work, said: "Glasgow has taken significant strides in
homelessness in recent years and Fordneuk Street is a great example of
our recent work."
Glasgow has the highest rate of homelessness anywhere in Scotland with
34 out of every 1,000 households accepted as homeless each year.
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