Legal threats to council in Glasgow over homelessness
The most by far were submitted by solicitors working with charity, Homeless Project Scotland.
READ NEXT:Calton residents hit out at minister's comments over drug needles
The charity is currently involved in a planning wrangle with the council over its night shelter in Glassford Street.
It has been told that it has no planning permission to operate the premises as a shelter for people overnight and must close.
When people come to the shelter the charity tries to get them into accommodation. The charity says without it these people would be left on the streets.
Working with Ross Harper Solicitors, it has been using the threat of Judicial Review to force action to get people accommodated.
The council said often cases are resolved before they get to court.
Other legal representatives have used the same redress for people.
The recent figures obtained by Homeless Project Scotland under Freedom of Information, and shared with the Glasgow Times, showed the charity with the solicitors has submitted more than others.
READ NEXT:Drugs minister said consumption room is not causing more crime or needles
Legal charity Govan Law Centre and Shelter Scotland have also use the Judicial Review process for clients.
It asked Glasgow City Council for details of Judicial Review notifications or threats.
The FOI reply stated: 'The number of Judicial Review threats the Council has received in the 12 weeks prior to 9th June 2025 were as follows: Ross Harper Solicitors acting in partnership with Homeless Project Scotland – 424.
Govan Law Centre – 205.
Shelter Scotland – 131.
Legal Services Agency – 4.
The council stated: 'All the Judicial Review threats were submitted by email and the subject matter for all the Judicial Review threats was homelessness.
'These totals include duplicate Judicial Review threats for the same cases as well as Judicial Review threats for cases which were already resolved.'
Colin McInnes, chair of Homeless Project Scotland, said: 'The law is there to be used to protect vulnerable people and the council's responsibilities on homelessness are clear.
'We will seek to ensure the council is held to account and will use legal means to get people the accommodation they are legally entitled to.'
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council, said: 'On a weekly basis – sometimes daily – the council receives notification of potential judicial reviews.
'The majority of cases do not even make it to court. This is because we either don't have a responsibility for the person/s involved or they already have accommodation in Glasgow or elsewhere.
'In situations where we do have a responsibility, it is usual for accommodation to be arranged before it gets to court. I
'In many cases, efforts to secure that accommodation will have been ongoing before notice of potential judicial review is received.
'We obviously try and accommodate everyone who presents as homeless. We resort to the use of hotel and B&B accommodation to meet immediate need.
'In cases where we can't accommodate, we explore all options available to them and remain in touch in order that we can offer accommodation as soon as we are able.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
5 hours ago
- STV News
Scottish Government accused of ‘shameful neglect' over asbestos in police stations
The Scottish Conservatives have accused the Government of 'shameful neglect' after figures show that more than 170 Scottish police stations contain asbestos. The figures, obtained by the party through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, show that 177 police stations around the country contain the substance. Every region in Scotland has stations with asbestos in them, with the highest number being found in Aberdeenshire and Moray where 25 buildings contain the material, followed by 23 in Greater Glasgow and 21 in Tayside. The FoI figures also show four police stations contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), which has been shown to be susceptible to structural failure. The party pointed out that the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has warned for years about the state of police stations in Scotland. It also referenced a 2019 Holyrood committee hearing in which former SPF general secretary Calum Steele described the Ayr station as 'probably being carved out of asbestos'. The party's justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the figures should be an 'urgent wake-up call' to the Government. 'It is utterly appalling and downright dangerous that any of Scotland's police stations should still contain asbestos,' he said. 'The fact the vast majority do across the country is deeply alarming and puts our hardworking officers and staff at great risk. PA Media The Conservatives' Liam Kerr described the figures as 'shocking'. 'These shocking findings are the latest example of the SNP's shameful neglect of Police Scotland. 'They have ignored warnings for years about Scotland's crumbling police estate and left officers and staff working in these buildings to face the consequences. 'This must be an urgent wake-up call for the SNP Justice Secretary to properly fund our police estate and guarantee asbestos will be removed from all of these stations where it is safe to do so as quickly as possible.' Figures released in April under a previous FoI request by the party showed there were 333 stations around the country in need of repairs, with the north-east region being the highest with 53 stations needing work. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'While responsibility for managing the police estate is for Police Scotland, we support their work to address issues in police buildings and welcome their commitment to providing a safe environment for officers, staff and the public. 'We have more than tripled the policing capital budget since 2017-18 and we are investing a record £1.64 billion for policing this year. 'This includes £70m of capital funding to invest in resources and estates.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Haringey pub's licence may go due to crime and violence reports
A north London pub could lose its premises licence over repeated reports of underage drinking and fights between were 40 callouts to North Eight pub in Hornsey between May 2024 and June 2025, of which 28 involved violence, and a further 16 in Metropolitan Police and Haringey Council said the number of incidents were "shocking".A licensing consultant for the pub had previously said some calls ended with a "no crime" result and claimed they had been made maliciously due to prejudice against the pub's customers, many of whom are from the traveller community. The council held a meeting of its sub-licencing committee on 5 August to review the pub's licence, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Committee member Adam Small said the pub had "repeatedly and egregiously" failed to uphold "the most basic requirements set out in the Licensing Act".He added: "We are facing a sustained pattern of serious failings that have caused repeated and serious distress and fear to Hornsey residents."The Metropolitan Police called the pub a "hotspot for violence and public order", stating that the landlord had "failed to implement effective security measures and uphold licensing conditions".The pub was formerly named the Hornsey Arms and was taken over by James Kearns in 2021. The sub-licensing committee initially met last month to discuss revoking the pub's this was delayed after licensing consultant David Dadds, acting on behalf of the North Eight pub, disputed the Metropolitan Police's claims, and said that some of the calls made had resulted in "no crime" and were "malicious".He also claimed that "indirect discrimination" was involved as many of the pub's customers were from the traveller community, accusing residents of not wanting "a traveller pub" close by. The police said that approximately 19 of the 40 callouts involved members of the traveller community refusing to leave or fighting inside the gave examples including a woman being served "to the point of vomiting" before being arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour, and a 16-year-old child being served until 02: police noted that almost all callouts happened between 00:00 and 03:00. The July meeting also heard from neighbouring residents, who said their daily routines had been disrupted by the venue and disturbances could be heard until 04: Waries said she had changed her public transport routes and travel times after being verbally assaulted by patrons of the pub, with one customer climbing on to her balcony and throwing an object. 'Excessive noise' At Tuesday's meeting, licensing barrister James Rankin, representing the police, said the situation had worsened in said there were 16 calls on nine separate dates between 4 and 30 July, made by residents, the alarm company, bar staff and Carey Denham from the Metropolitan Police said there had been a "substantial" amount of times when bar staff and security were concerned that a big group of people had "got out of hand".Mr Dadds asked again for the meeting to be adjourned, but this was refused, leading him to withdraw from the hearing. The council's noise and nuisance officer, Craig Bellringer, said that the premises had received an abatement notice and two fixed penalty notices due to "excessive" added that there had been four or five further noise complaints since June, and this was "one of the worst [pubs in Haringey]" for noise issues. Mr Bellringer, Mr Small and the Metropolitan Police all advised revoking the pub's licence entirely, following the evidence heard at the hearings.A decision will be published within five working days of the meeting, expected to be early next week.
ITV News
4 days ago
- ITV News
Cowboy builder victim 'let down' by Trading Standards warns cuts leave door open to rogue traders
It's good news if you are a cowboy builder, or if you are selling illegal cigarettes, maybe some illicit vapes beacuse there are now fewer people working to stop you. New research suggests our defences against rogue traders have fallen so low that they have become 'not fit for purpose' with a reduction on criminal prosecutions and shop raids for suspected illegal goods. Claire Dickenson says "I was let down by my builder - and then by Trading Standards" as she now lives in a house that shows all the signs of the struggles she's been through fighting a builder for more than a year. Her builder walked out after disagreements over payments 13 months ago, and now she and her family have been left living in a half-finished building site without a kitchen. She says the contractor has left her out of pocket and out of options. But she says the trader is not the only one to have let her down - she had expected far more help from Trading Standards who did not prosecute. "It's been a really stressful experience for the whole family," Ms Dickenson said. "We didn't think when we started this project that we would have no recourse if things were to go wrong. "We had a contract, we staged payments we thought we were doing the right thing but when it actually came down to it, its very much a civil issue that's difficult to support people on. "In any other industry or issue with a product or service there is a backstop with the consumer, with building work there is seemingly nothing to protect the consumer and that quite frightening." Ms Dickenson says she is "panicked" at the thought of paying to install a new kitchen and said she feels "alone, upset and quite angry that there is nothing to support consumers". She said Trading Standards do not have the resources to help her get the money back she has lost and believes this leaves an open door for any trader that wants to abuse customers. Trading Standards officers work for local councils enforcing consumer rules. But there are fears that cutbacks have left some departments ineffective. Freedom of Information disclosures to Which? show 36 councils made no criminal prosecutions in a whole year while 25 made only one prosecution of rogue traders. Consumer expert Lisa Webb from Which? said: "Fewer than one in five of the Trading Standards teams we spoke to have not bought any form of criminal investigation or prosecution in their area at all this year. "That means that criminals effectively know that they can get away with breaking the law." Trading Standards has been cut by around 50% in the last 15 years according to the sectors professional body, Chartered Trading Standards Institute. We asked Ms Dickenson's local Trading Standards for comment who told ITV News they understand her distress but that they did not have a legal basis to take formal action. Meanwhile, it's not just the criminals who benefit from the problems. Traders that work hard to stick to the rules face unfair competition from rivals who have no such scruples. There has often been a phrase to explain police resourcing as 'the thin blue line', for Trading Standards that line seems to be even more thin.
