Regulator welcomes Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group recommendations
Recommendations to eradicate rough sleeping and end homelessness from the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group have been welcomed by the Scottish Housing Regulator.
Amongst its recommendations, the group has proposed that the Regulator should increase its focus on the Access to Housing Standard of the Scottish Social Housing Charter to assess how all landlords are performing in relation to enabling access for homeless households.
Michael Cameron, the Regulator’s chief executive, said: “We welcome the important work of the group. Homelessness is a priority for us. It’s vital that local authorities and RSLs work together to provide homes quickly for people who need them and that people don’t need to spend too long in temporary accommodation.
“Access to housing is also an important equalities and human rights issue. We will consider the recommendations closely as part of our current review of how we regulate.”
The Regulator is engaging with 20 local authorities around their homelessness services. It recently published the outcome of its review of homelessness in Glasgow, which concluded people are waiting too long to be housed and spending too long in temporary accommodation in the city.
The Regulator’s recent research from its National Panel of Tenants and Service Users gave insight into the experiences of people who have used local authorities’ homelessness services.