Why we are engaging with Glasgow City Council (Glasgow)
We are engaging with Glasgow about its services for people who are homeless.
COVID-19 has significantly impacted the services provided by social landlords in 2020 and will continue to influence how services are provided in 2021. We will continue to monitor, assess and report upon how each landlord is responding and we will keep our regulatory engagement under review so that we can continue to respond to the challenges of COVID-19.
In November 2020 we published the findings of our inquiry under section 42, Part 4 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 into Glasgow City Council’s services for people experiencing homelessness.
The Council accepted our findings and recommendations. It has developed a plan to implement our recommendations within its wider programme of work to transform its services for people who are homeless.
Since March 2020 the Council has focussed on responding to the impact of COVID-19 during which there has been a significant reduction in the number of homes being let by RSLs as a result of the restrictions they have had to operate within during the pandemic.
Glasgow has continued to receive high levels of homelessness applications during the pandemic. Since April 2020 it significantly improved its compliance with the statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation and has reported full compliance since November 2020. The Council is working to sustain its compliance whilst reducing its use of Bed and Breakfasts and hotels.
Since August the Council has reduced the total number of households in temporary accommodation from 3,311 to 2,778 at the end of February 2021.
Between October and December 2020 the Council secured 1,343 settled lets from RSLs, a significant improvement on the same period last year. Working with its third sector partners Glasgow has sustained the reduction in the number of people who had been sleeping rough prior to the pandemic.
What Glasgow must do
Glasgow must:
- provide us each month and quarter with the information we require on key aspects of its services and outcomes for people who are homeless; and
- provide us with its temporary accommodation strategy and any other information we require in relation to its improvement plan.
What we will do
We will:
- continue to monitor Glasgow’s performance on sustaining its compliance with the statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation and other key aspects of its services and outcomes for people who are homeless;
- meet with the Council monthly to discuss its progress with the delivery of its improvement plan; and
- update our published engagement plan in light of any material change to our planned engagement with Glasgow.
Regulatory returns
Glasgow must provide us with the following annual regulatory returns and alert us to notifiable events as appropriate:
- Annual Assurance Statement; and
- Annual Return on the Charter.
It should also notify us of any material changes to its Annual Assurance Statement, and any tenant and resident safety matter which has been reported to or is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive or reports from regulatory or statutory authorities or insurance providers, relating to safety concerns.