Council wins praise for homeless policy

Sep 17 2009 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

A HOUSING charity has praised West Lothian Council for making progress on providing homes.

Statistics released by the Scottish Government last week show the local authority is making steady progress towards meeting the commitment to give everyone the right to a home by 2012.

And Shelter Scotland has welcomed the council’s progress.

The new statistics show 1319 households were homeless in 2008/9, compared with 1590 in 1999, the year of devolution.

However, the figures also expose the extent of the continued reliance on temporary accommodation in West Lothian

Figures for March 31, 2009, show 370 households were living in temporary accommodation, compared with 130 on March 31, 1999.

The housing charity is urging the Scottish Government to build 10,000 more affordable homes to rent a year to tackle the growing number of people in temporary accommodation across Scotland.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, the housing and homelessness charity, said: “West Lothian Council is making steady progress towards meeting the 2012 commitment to give everyone in Scotland the right to a home.

“With the cost of temporary accommodation to local councils across Scotland soaring to an estimated £70 million a year, and the number of new build homes falling dramatically over the last year, the onus is on the Scottish Government to make this year’s budget a “Budget for Homes” to boost housing in West Lothian and across Scotland.”

West Lothian Council said it is working to meet the needs of people looking for a new home.

A council spokesman said: “We are pleased Shelter has recognised our good progress towards meeting the needs of homeless people.

“Although the number of people presenting themselves as homeless is reducing, those who do are often in the greatest need, with 79 per cent of homeless presentations now classed as the highest priority. “This results in a bigger demand for temporary accommodation and people stay longer in it.

“We are working hard to tackle this issue by building over 750 new homes, with the first 248 already under way – the first council houses to be built in West Lothian for 25 years.

“In addition, Registered Social Landlords have plans to build a further 500 properties for let in West Lothian, which will also help in meeting the demand.

“Through the delivery of our homeless strategy, which focuses on prevention, support and sustainability, we will continue to strive to meet the needs of homeless people and deliver sustainable, permanent outcomes for them as we progress towards 2012.”