Today (Monday 18 November) marks the next step towards ending homelessness in Scotland, with the first meeting of a new panel of experts from the homelessness sector. The group has been tasked with developing recommendations for the Scottish Government on legal duties to prevent people from becoming homeless.

National homelessness charity Crisis will lead on the work and pull together experts from across the sector to advise on homelessness prevention, following the launch of the Ending Homelessness Together High Level Action Plan last year. Chaired by Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick of Heriot Watt University, the group will include leaders from across the homelessness and housing sectors.

The group will work across a number of themes to develop recommendations for legal reform. The work will include consultations with public agencies and support providers as well as hearing from people who have experience of being homeless and people who work in frontline services to help shape the group’s final recommendations.

The final recommendations on legal duties to prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless will be presented to Housing Minister Kevin Stewart in summer 2020.

The group’s work will build on work being done in England and Wales, where preventing homelessness is already in law - as well as looking to make sure that all relevant public agencies step in as quickly as possible to stop people becoming homeless.

Matt Downie, Director of Policy and External Affairs at Crisis, said: “We know ending homelessness is absolutely possible, and the best way to do that is to prevent it happening in the first place. We’re delighted that the Scottish Government wants to understand in detail how this can be done better across housing and public services.

“We know from across England and Wales, that by placing a legal focus on prevention and ensuring people at risk of becoming homeless have access to vital support earlier on, we can take a huge step forward. This will be an open and collaborative exercise, and we look forward to working with the Scottish Government and the sector to achieve our aim of ending homelessness altogether.

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “By developing proposals for legal duties to prevent people becoming homeless, for local authorities and relevant public sector bodies, we are taking another big step towards ending homelessness in Scotland for good.

“The new working group, in partnership with housing and public sector stakeholders, will help create and sustain the cultural change that is needed to ensure that everyone in Scotland has a warm, safe place to call home.”