Category: News

Scottish Government and COSLA have issued non-statutory guidance for local authorities, social landlords and private rented sector landlords to help them meet duties and legal requirements during the coronavirus pandemic.

While recognising the range of challenges of allocating housing during the Covid-19 crisis, the guidance also provides practical considerations and takes the strong position that:

“… delays to allocations risk the safety of some of our most vulnerable groups and will create a backlog within the housing sector which will slow progress towards a recovery. It is crucial to ensure empty properties continue to be allocated throughout this period wherever possible. Where issues are identified strong partnership working across the housing sector and government should aim to address these issues and find practical solutions.”

You can read the guidance here.

There are grim links between homelessness, human trafficking and modern slavery. The take-away message from Police Scotland at a Homeless Network Scotland members event before the Covid-19 outbreak was that a ‘false alarm is better than no alarm’. This advice rings even clearer now, with the pandemic exacerbating an already urgent situation for people affected or at risk.

There are new concerns that people trafficked into businesses that have closed due to Covid-19 (e.g. nail bars and car washes) could be forced into different work, or ‘let go’ if their trafficker can no longer make money from them. People often have no ID, papers or money and are at increased risk of homelessness, rough sleeping, destitution and exploitation including sexual exploitation. Homelessness agencies are being asked to spot the signs, to share information and continue to strengthen relationships across homelessness, trafficking, destitution and refugee services.

HELP NUMBERS:

To get advice or report a concern contact the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700 or advise the person that you are concerned about to phone this number. They can speak confidentially without giving their name.

TARA (Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance) work with women over 18 who have been trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. Phone 0141 275 7724.

Migrant Help: Work with people over 18 who have been trafficked for any purpose other than commercial sexual exploitation. Phone 0141 8847900 /out of Hours 0141 2128553.

If you’re in Glasgow, there is a group linked directly to homelessness services, contact Joy Andrew at Restore Glasgow on joyrestore18@gmail.com.

The Scottish Government is working with UK Government to extend testing to a wide range of key workers. Testing will allow symptomatic key workers and their household members to know whether or not they have the virus to help keep essential services running.

This includes third sector frontline services, including homelessness services, who are included in their local authority’s key worker list. Due to high demand for testing, key workers have been prioritised for testing by different categories of work.

Guidance on who can access the expanded testing programme in Scotland is available here

Guidance on coronavirus testing for key workers who are showing symptoms is available here

The priority categories are listed in the matrix which is available here

Homeless Network Scotland invites you to a series of webinars beginning on Monday 27 April at 2.00pm, covering a range of themes concerning the additional impact of Covid-19 on homelessness in Scotland.

From Precarious to Permanent, the series begins with an in-depth look at current homelessness policy in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Delivered by Claire Frew, Policy and Impact Manager, this webinar will be fast moving and informative with an opportunity for Q&A to allow discussion and debate.

• From Precarious to Permanent 
  Monday 27 April 2020 at 1.50pm UK time
  Join the webinar here

Further planned webinar’s in the series include

• Involving People in Change | 4 May at 2.00pm
  Delivered by the All In for Change Team, this webinar will highlight the benefits of involving people with lived experience in shaping services, influencing policy and changing systems.
   
• Housing First Update | 7 May at 2.00pm
  To coincide with the Housing First Conference sadly cancelled due to Covid-19, this webinar will have a progress report on the Housing First strategy, the successes and challenges to date. Delivered by Doug Gibson, Partnerships Manager.
   
• Communications in Lockdown | 11 May at 2.00pm
  Delivered by Martin Gavin, Head of External Relations, this webinar will have a detailed look at a challenge for organisations during lockdown of how they continue to communicate internally and externally to people, practitioners and other organisations.
   
• Homelessness Action Plan | 18 May at 2.00pm
  Delivered by Michelle Major, Change Lead, this webinar will provide an update on the Homelessness Action Plan in Scotland with particular focus on Rough Sleeping and Destitution.
   
• Learning in Lockdown  | 25 May at 2.00pm
  Delivered by Graham Lamont, Business & Learning Development Manager, this webinar will look specifically at the difficulties of learning during the COVID-19 crisis. Offering resources and potential strategies aimed at professionals, practitioners, service users and volunteers.

The webinar series will have several guest speakers as we focus on the many different strands and great work going on across Scotland. To join please follow these instructions:

https://homelessnetwork.scot/joining-instructions

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf  announced in Parliament yesterday that a number of short-term prisoners nearing the end of their time in custody are to be released early, under measures designed to help tackle the (COVID-19) outbreak.

Regulations will be laid before Parliament on the 30th of April 2020, which will come into immediate effect, that will allow for a limited number of short term sentenced individuals to be released on or after that date. The scheme will be limited to those sentenced to 18 months or less and who on 30 April have 90 days (three months) or less left of their time in custody and will exclude certain types of prisoner, such as those sentenced for sexual or terrorism offences.

Further details of the proposed early release programme, which will see these prisoners released over a four week period from 30 April, can be found within the news release here.  

A link to the Ministerial statement made in Parliament is here.

Today, a letter from the Scottish Government Justice Division outlining how they expect the early release to work in practice was sent to partners across the public sector, including Chief Executives of local authorities. The letter is here.