A NEW action plan to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping across Glasgow will be discussed by the City Council today.

The changes to the council’s homelessness policy, now in place, reflect the legislative changes implemented by the Scottish Government last year.

In November 2018, the Scottish Government and COSLA jointly published a five-year “Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan” which requested every local authority submit their Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans by December 31, 2018.

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The amended policy for Glasgow sets out the basis on which the City Council sets charges for the provision of temporary furnished flats.

Each year the appropriate committee will establish a revised set and charging structure which will follow the Code of Guidance.

It also gives the council the power to investigate whether the applicant who has become homeless or is threatened with homelessness did so intentionally.

The council is currently working with a range of stakeholders including the City’s Registered Social Landlords in order to deliver their Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) which sets out a range of actions aimed at improving access to settled and temporary accommodation for homeless households.

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The objectives and principles of this new policy for the council also include:

• preventing homelessness wherever this is possible

• preventing the need to sleep rough

• provide services that adhere to the council’s equality schemes

At present, Glasgow’s homelessness services are delivered through three community homeless facilities, two specialist casework teams for refugees and prisoners and the out of hours service.

In providing homelessness services the council may offer advice, information and assistance, securing settled and temporary accommodation and tenancy support.

They may also engage in prevention work, working in partnership with other agencies and referrals to appropriate health care and employability services.

The homelessness service will also avoid the screening of applicants and ensure that no homeless applicant is refused the right to make a homeless application.

The council, while working with landlords and where appropriate financial institutions and other mortgage lenders will seek to maintain potentially homeless households in their accommodation for as long as possible.

The policy is expected to be further reviewed in March 2023 or sooner if there are further legislative changes from the Scottish Government.