'Our homelessness services are under significant pressure'
We are aware that the number of people living in temporary homeless accommodation is at a record high, from reports provided by Glasgow's Health and Social Care Partnership.
Currently, staff at the Health and Social Care Partnership are focusing on supporting people who are living in an emergency situation.
At the moment, the demand for housing in Glasgow is much greater than the housing supply.
There can be a delay of several years before people who are homeless can access a permanent house or flat.
Homeless charities highlight that the cuts by the UK Department for Work and Pensions towards Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit will lead to a further increase in homelessness.
Decisions by the UK Government in the year ahead are likely to exacerbate our already stretched council services.
The Scottish Government is mitigating the UK Government's Bedroom Tax.
We know that this funding would be better spent tackling the housing crisis and the UK Government should scrap this tax.
There is a Housing Transfer Incentive Scheme in Glasgow which can help release large housing association homes by encouraging people in 'under-occupied' properties with three rooms or more, to downsize.
Tenants can access appropriately sized homes to meet their needs through specific housing support services.
We can welcome the Scottish Parliament's Housing Inquiry by the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee which has published a series of recommendations to support further collaboration by the Scottish Government with housing providers to deliver a national overarching Housing Emergency Action Plan by the end of this session.
We need the Scottish Government to provide clarity on whether its additional funding for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme budget will ensure that it meets its target of providing 110,000 affordable homes by 2030.
It is vital that housing is a priority and that the Scottish Government considers the importance of increasing the Affordable Housing Supply Programme budget.
There has been significant partnership working undertaken to respond to the housing crisis.
We can welcome the number of housing associations providing lets to tenants who are homeless across Glasgow.
The Scottish Government can explore the opportunities available by increasing social investment in housing.
The capacity of housing associations could be developed to increase the number of homes, especially for families, in our local communities.
There is a need to ensure clarity for housing providers on the intended statutory requirement for homes to meet net-zero standards.
Uncertainty is deterring housing development and this needs to be addressed to help tackle the housing crisis.
We can support the appointment of Màiri McAllan as Cabinet Secretary for Housing to ensure that there is increased focus on tackling the housing crisis and providing energy-efficient homes for the future.
It is vital that the new Cabinet Secretary can use all the powers at her disposal to address the housing crisis we face.
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Glasgow Times
16 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
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Wales Online
36 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Keir Starmer announces full inquiry into grooming gangs scandal
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Western Telegraph
an hour ago
- Western Telegraph
More UK jets being sent to the Middle East as Starmer calls for de-escalation
The Prime Minister said further military assets are being deployed to provide 'contingency support' across the region amid escalating hostilities between the two long-time foes. Additional refuelling aircraft have been deployed from UK bases and more fast jets will be sent over, it is understood. The UK already has RAF jets in the Middle East as part of Operation Shader. Speaking to reporters travelling with him on a visit to Canada, Sir Keir declined to rule out intervening in the conflict entirely but made clear he would continue pressing for de-escalation and said the 'intense' developments over the weekend would be discussed in detail at the G7 summit. 'These are obviously operational decisions and the situation is ongoing and developing and therefore I'm not going to get into the precise details, but we are moving assets, we've already been moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support across the region. So that is happening,' he said. Sir Keir added: 'Our constant message is de-escalate, and therefore everything we're doing, all discussions we're having are to do with de-escalation.' Asked whether he would rule out UK involvement, he said: 'I'm not going to get in to that.' Demonstrators in Tehran carry posters of Iranian commanders killed in Friday's Israeli strikes (Vahid Salemi/AP) Britain last announced it had deployed fighter jets in the region in last year, when the Government said British aircraft had played a part in efforts to prevent further escalation. It comes after Iranian state media said Tehran had warned it would target US, UK and French bases in the region if the countries help Israel thwart Iran's strikes, according to reports on Saturday. Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel overnight after a series of Israeli strikes on the heart of Tehran's nuclear programme and armed forces. Tehran's UN ambassador said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded in Israel's attacks, while its response was said to have killed at least three and wounded dozens. Israeli security forces inspect the site of homes destroyed by a missile fired from Iran, in Rishon Lezion, Israel (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) A Cobra meeting of high-level ministers was convened on Friday afternoon to discuss the situation. The same is not expected on Saturday but Whitehall officials were expected to be meeting. The conflict was ignited by early morning Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear bases on Friday. Israel said the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building a nuclear weapon, although experts and the US government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon. Iran retaliated with waves of drones and ballistic missiles, with explosions lighting up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Both the UK and the US have insisted they were not involved in the Israeli strikes and that the country acted unilaterally. Sir Keir would not be drawn on whether the UK was given notice of Israel's attack after reports that the country was not forewarned following the Government's decision to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers last week. 'In relation to Israel, I had a good and constructive discussion with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday, and that included discussions about the safety and security of Israel, as you would expect, between two allies,' he said. Asked if Britain had been told in advance of Israeli's military plans, the Prime Minister said: 'I'm not going to go into what information we had at the time or since. 'But we discuss these things intensely with our allies. But I'm not going to get into precisely what we knew, because it's a constant flow of information between our allies, and between us and the US.'
