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15 January, 2021 Open access

Shelter Scotland criticises Scottish Government’s decision to further extend exemption from seven-day limit on unsuitable temporary accommodation placements

New regulations laid by the government this week suspend protection of homeless households from extended placements in hotels and B&Bs until the end of June 2021

Shelter Scotland has criticised the Scottish Government’s decision to further extend an exemption from the seven-day limit on placing homeless households in unsuitable temporary accommodation.

Shelter’s concerns follow the laying of new regulations this week, that come into force from 31 January 2021, which further extend an exemption from unsuitable temporary accommodation rules in Scotland - to allow placement of homeless families in accommodation with shared facilities, such as hotels and bed and breakfasts (B&Bs), for more than seven days - until 30 June 2021.

NB - from 6 May 2020, amendments to the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014 (SSI.No.243/2014) - that sets a seven-day limit on the amount of time that specified types of homeless households should spend in unsuitable temporary accommodation - made provision for all homeless households to be subject to the seven-day limit. However, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic the Order also made provision for a temporary exception to this protection until 30 September 2020 (which was then extended further and was due to expire on 31 January 2021).

Commenting on the government's decision to extend the exemption from the seven-day limit, Shelter Scotland’s director Alison Watson said -

‘The Scottish Government has again gone back on its promise to extend vital protections to all homeless people.

This extension gives councils a license to put people in crisis in sub-standard temporary accommodation like hotels and B&Bs, which will harm their mental and physical health.

Our message to government is clear: no more excuses, no more delays. The homes exist to get people out of unsuitable temporary accommodation, but people who are homeless are not being prioritised. This isn’t about capacity, it’s about political will.

The Scottish Government must immediately end the use of exemptions to the Unsuitable Accommodation Order and ensure that Local Authorities have the support and resources they require to get people into decent temporary accommodation.’

For more information, see Scottish Government back-tracks on homeless protections from scotland.shelter.org.uk