Category: News

In February, Councillor Jane Meagher chaired the first meeting of a new Homelessness Task Force appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee – see the committee report here.  The remit of the group is to build on existing prevention work, reduce the number of people rough sleeping, accessing temporary accommodation and living in insecure accommodation.

To increase the supply of quality council led temporary accommodation provision, reducing the reliance on bed and breakfast. And to ensure that appropriate support is available for all people who require it.  A very informative presentation was delivered outlining the current context of Edinburgh’s affordable housing programme, an increasing population and the local housing pressures. A copy of the slides are available here.  

The housing regulator’s conclusions match the same range of issues raised by the Everyone Home collective. While some councils have had success in moving toward a Rapid Rehousing approach, others are contending with not enough homes and too many people in temporary accommodation. Read the Regulator’s thematic inquiry report on homelessness services in Scotland.

In January, Patrick Harvie MSP set out to Parliament the Scottish Government’s proposals for the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 beyond 31 March. Subject to the approval of Parliament, changes to the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act will mean that from 1 April 2023:

• if landlords choose to increase private rents, they will be capped at 3%;
• the safeguard for private landlords will be amended, allowing them to apply for increases of up to 6% to help cover certain increases in costs in defined and limited circumstances;
• enforcement of evictions will continue to be prevented for all tenants except in a number of specified circumstances;
• increased damages for unlawful evictions of up to 36 months’ worth of rent will continue to be applicable;
• the rent cap for social sector accommodation will be expired, following a voluntary agreement being reached on an agreed approach to rent setting for 2023/24 that ensures that rents remain affordable but still support continued investment in the sector;
• the rent cap for student accommodation will be suspended, recognising its limited impact on annual rents set based on an academic year.

These temporary measures are intended to be extended to 30 September, provided they remain necessary, with the option to extend for another six-month period if required. As announced in December 2022, the social sector rent freeze is being replaced with agreements from landlords to keep any rent increase for 2023-24 well below inflation. The first report on the implementation of the legislation, covering the period 28 October to 31 December 2022, was also published in January. Read it here. 

Remembering Marion Gibbs who died on 7 December 2022

Marion was at the very centre of Scotland’s housing sector. For over 30 years, her life’s work was focused on those in the most housing need; people affected by homelessness, overcrowding and those in unsuitable, unsafe or temporary accommodation.  

Marion cared deeply for those issues, but heartily resisted any maudlin or sentiment around it. She was driven instead by a sense of equality and fairness, by what’s right. She was a leading champion for how good law and policy should be used to protect, defend and enable people.

Marion especially cherished her role at Scottish Government that she took up in 2009. It represented to her a position where she could best put to good use her culmination of experience and knowledge. She was not what you would call a typical civil servant. She knew so much yet wore that knowledge lightly. Her equal grasp of the strategic big picture combined with a grounded understanding of how things worked in the real world – all shared with clarity and warmth in equal measure – won the deep trust and respect of Ministers and colleagues alike. She so precisely articulated the responsibility of national and local government in ensuring everyone has a home and was also so pivotal within the structures to deliver on it.

Recently Marion contributed to a journal being published to mark a key policy milestone. It is no surprise that her article was about the importance of partnership and trust, on keeping momentum going and on working together. She was the sector’s go-to for information, advice and insight. She really shone as a regular and popular conference chair, keynote speaker and expert panellist within and beyond Scotland – leading debates and discussions in her deep Aberdonian brogue.

A life’s work involves not just advocating for progress but also defending against anything that takes us backwards. Marion did both persuasively, collaboratively and tirelessly and never shied away from speaking truth to power. There are less than a handful of people in Scotland who have been involved in such an important landscape and spanning such an important period. Marion was not just one of them, she was the lynchpin.

We owe her a lot and we’ll miss her.

***

Marion’s family are holding a private funeral service next week, while a bigger celebration will be held in Spring so that everyone who wants to will have the opportunity to come together and pay tribute. We hope to share more details of that event in the new year.

Lorna Gibbs has set up a charity fundraiser for Stonewall in loving memory of her partner which is welcoming donations here.