Scottish Labour Party Debate: Homelessness Prevention and Housing Supply

Mark Griffin S6M-08685 That the Parliament acknowledges the recommendations of the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group and urges the Scottish Government to act upon them as soon as possible to tackle the rising tide of homelessness; welcomes the long overdue appointment of a dedicated Minister for Housing to the Scottish Government to focus minds; regrets the cuts to the affordable housing supply programme in the Scottish Government’s Budget, in light of the risk that its house building target will not be met; agrees that the Scottish Government should, at a minimum, adequately fund the delivery of new social homes through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to meet an interim target of delivering 38,500 social homes by 2026; considers that the Scottish Government should commit to a target of building 25,000 all-tenure new homes annually, and presses the Scottish Government to publish a review of funding of homelessness services, including any identified funding gaps and the provision of continued funding for Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans and the prevention of homelessness. Paul McLennan S6M-08685.2 As an amendment to motion S6M-08685 in the name of Mark Griffin (Homelessness Prevention and Housing Supply), leave out from "urges" to end and insert "agrees that the Scottish Government should respond positively to tackle the unacceptable numbers in temporary accommodation; recognises the expertise and partnership working between local and national government, third sector organisations and those with lived experience to tackle, prevent and end homelessness, building on existing strong homelessness and housing rights; welcomes the continued investment through local government core funding and the Scottish Government’s £100 million Ending Homelessness Together transformation fund to continue with a rapid rehousing and housing first approach; acknowledges that Scotland leads the way in delivering affordable housing, with 118,124 affordable homes delivered since 2007, 83,291 of which were for social rent, including 21,313 council homes, and welcomes the Scottish Government’s continued investment of £3.5 billion over the current parliamentary session for the delivery of more affordable homes towards its 2032 target." Miles Briggs S6M-08685.1 As an amendment to motion S6M-08685 in the name of Mark Griffin (Homelessness Prevention and Housing Supply), insert at end “; notes that there has been a 12% decrease in new home starts in the year to end September 2022, compared with the previous 12 months, which adds to the housing shortfall of more than 110,000 homes since 2007; calls on the Scottish Government to look to develop new extra-care housing models to provide for people with additional support needs, and further calls on ministers to spearhead an urgent Scottish Housing Emergency Action Plan.”