Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 4:10 pm on 23 June 2010.

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Photo of Karen Gillon Karen Gillon Labour 4:10, 23 June 2010

I thank the Local Government and Communities Committee for the report and the information in it. The bill is important and I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate.

I speak not as a member of the committee but as the constituency member for Clydesdale. I do not expect that my postbag and surgeries are very different from those of other members. Two main complaints come up. The first is the length of time that it takes people to secure a tenancy in the social rented sector, whether that is through the council or a housing association.

Many people who come to see me are living with family members, often in an overcrowded situation. There is a clear need to look again at that group of tenants. In rural constituencies such as mine, people often want to stay in the villages in which they were brought up. They do not want to pick a particular street or part of the village, but they want to stay in the village. However, as things stand, it is difficult for such people to gain points and move up the housing waiting list. There is a need for some element of local direction or discretion to support such people to find housing in the communities in which they were brought up, thereby incentivising young families to stay in the area that they know.

People who live in expensive private rented accommodation make up another group that I encounter. Many such people receive housing benefit, and John Wilson was right to ask how the reductions in housing benefit that were announced yesterday will impact on them. Many of them pay rent at a level that is probably way above what the house is worth, although that is the level that can be charged in the area. If housing benefit is reduced, perhaps rent levels will similarly reduce. However, the changes might plunge people into a situation in which they are unable to fund their tenancy and must present to the local authority as homeless, which will cause additional issues for us. I welcome the provisions that will strengthen the regulation of landlords, as far as they go, but it would be helpful to be able to see the private housing bill that the minister seeks to introduce.

The second most common complaint is about antisocial behaviour and the impact of antisocial tenants on individuals and communities. Just last week, four different families raised with me the behaviour of the same tenant, who is well known to me as a result of various breaches of other tenancies as a result of antisocial behaviour. The tenant is on the merry-go-round of the council's never-ending duty to provide him with a house. As Charlie Gordon said, some people think that they are untouchable.

Let me give members another example of an applicant for housing. He is a 19-year-old who was previously in care and first presented as homeless in 2005. During the past four years he has been provided with accommodation in 17 different establishments. In almost all instances he has lost his accommodation due to threatening behaviour or violence. Six months ago he was placed in a dispersed flat and a range of support was provided. During his time in that accommodation there were numerous complaints of antisocial behaviour, which culminated in his being arrested and charged with serious assault after allegedly stabbing a young man. After a short period in prison he was placed in another dispersed flat. Despite the high level of support that is on offer, that applicant for housing continues to act in an unacceptable manner, and it looks like he will lose his accommodation again. He has received a high level of support throughout the period that I have described.

I welcome the measures that South Lanarkshire Council has taken through the breaking the cycle project and the negotiated entry into secure tenancy project, which provides support to those with a history of substance misuse. I also welcome the Shelter Scotland families project. However there seems to be a group of people on a merry- go-round of antisocial behaviour that we have not managed to deal with. I am happy to support Shelter's proposal that we have a needs-based assessment at the beginning of the process. However, we also need to have a serious debate about what happens at the end of the process. If someone has had the assessment and support but still refuses to address their antisocial behaviour, what do we do? At what point do we put the needs of the community ahead of the needs of such an individual? At what point do we say that enough is enough?

There may be a right to a tenancy, but it comes with responsibilities, and some people simply do not want to accept those responsibilities. None of us in the chamber would put up with a merry-go-round of antisocial tenants next to us in the streets that we live in; if we are honest, none of us would be expected to put up with that. However, other people in other streets in Scotland are expected to put up with that. No one would disagree that we need to increase the supply of social rented housing, and it goes without saying that we need to take much stronger enforcement action against unscrupulous private landlords and provide greater support to those who become homeless. However, we must deal with the growing perception in parts of Scotland that the only way in which someone can get a social rented house is for them to make themselves homeless. If they then display antisocial behaviour, no one will be able to do anything about it other than simply move them somewhere else. That is not good for the communities that I represent and it is not good for this Parliament. If we are honest, all of us can and must do more through the bill and other legislation that is coming, on which I hope that members will work together.