 The next item of business is a statement by Kevin Stewart, the busy minister, on ending homelessness together. Actions recommended by the homelessness and rough sleeping action group. The minister will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions and interruptions. I call on the minister to make his statement. Ten minutes, please, Mr Stewart. Thank you for the opportunity to set out our ambitious plans for ending homelessness in Scotland following the work of the homelessness and rough sleeping action group. Everyone needs a safe, warm, settled place that they can call home. Home is more than a physical place to live, it's where we have roots and a sense of belonging. Home gives us our sense of wellbeing and it's the starting point for how we interact with our community and the wider world. It is not acceptable in a country like Scotland for people to be rough sleeping or spending extended periods of time and temporary accommodation. We know that the impacts of homelessness on people is devastating. A fact brought home with the publication of a study into the links between health and homelessness last week showing poorer outcomes across the board for people who have experience of homelessness. That is why the First Minister established the homelessness and rough sleeping action group in September last year to recommend the actions and solutions that are needed to eradicate rough sleeping, transform the use of temporary accommodation and end homelessness for good in Scotland. Everybody found to be homeless in Scotland is entitled to settled housing, and most people are provided with it. There has been a 39 per cent fall in homelessness applications since 2008-9, and that is largely due to the innovative and person-centred approach on prevention happening at a local level. Yet too many people struggle to access the accommodation and the services that they need. We need to change how we look at homelessness as a nation. Homelessness is not about fault, it is not something that individuals choose to become. That is why we must do more to ensure that our system works for those who are most vulnerable, recognising the importance of tackling homelessness as a core part of doing right by everyone in our society. I believe that we can end homelessness in Scotland. There will always be those who require emergency housing and support as life's challenging events are thrown at us, but I want to see a homelessness system that makes the experience as brief and as simple as possible. The system itself should provide a safety net for people when they need it in their lives in times of hardship and crisis, but it also supports them to move on and thrive as quickly as possible. The homelessness and rough sleeping action group rose to the challenge that we set them. In November we received their first set of recommendations in addressing rough sleeping over the winter. Those were implemented with £328,000 worth of investment from the Scottish Government and action group members. That enabled targeted support for people who are sleeping rough and helped to get them off the streets and keep them safe during challenging times over one of our co-diswinters ever. That was followed in March by the action group's recommendations on how to end rough sleeping for good. Recommendations on the transformation of temporary accommodation were submitted in May, and today saw the publication of the fourth and final set of recommendations setting out how to end homelessness altogether. The group has worked at a remarkable pace, while still involving and engaging many others in addition to their regular meetings and significant amounts of work undertaken in between. In just nine months, it has produced four reports covering 70 recommendations, which focus relentlessly on making improvements for people threatened with or experiencing homelessness. We have accepted in principle all the recommendations in the direct control of the Scottish Government. In those areas where there are actions for others, for example councils or UK Government, we will urge them to act and match our commitments. In particular, the six final recommendations made on the funding of temporary accommodation will be developed further in partnership with local authorities. In addition, through Glasgow Homeless Network's iWeCan programme, the action group engaged with people who have first-hand experience of homelessness. They know what it is like to navigate the homelessness system and can therefore see where the barriers are. I cannot emphasise enough how important I regard that work. I wish to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to John Sparks, as chair of the group, and to every member of the group for their commitment, dedication and hard work. I know that some members of Harsag are in the gallery today. It is clear that shared vision of each member of the group to end homelessness and their commitment to social justice, which was very much shared by us and the Scottish Government, was crucial to working with such pace and clarity. The context for the 70 detailed recommendations is a vision of a whole system approach, where prevention of homelessness is paramount, where the responsibility lies not just with the local authorities but with all parts of the public sector. Where homelessness does occur, rapid rehousing should be the default position, avoiding the need for temporary accommodation. Recognising that some people need more than just a house and have multiple and often complex needs, that must be addressed alongside homelessness. The action group has been very clear that the housing first model of intensive support should be available in those cases. For those who require the emergency safety net of temporary accommodation, their time should be as short as possible. It should be spent in accommodation, which is of a high standard, and in a location that minimises disruption to their daily lives. Earlier today, I confirmed the Government's acceptance of the final set of recommendations. Those set out actions to end homelessness altogether and address the wider risk factors for homelessness, including poverty, social security and migration policy. This morning, I announced a significant allocation of £21 million from the £50 million Ending Homelessness Together fund to support that transition to rapid rehousing and housing first. That includes a £1.5 million contribution over two years from the health funding that has been made available this year for addiction services, demonstrating our commitment to joint working at a strategic level and to working across portfolios. I am pleased to say that we have already begun the work that is required to take the recommendations of the action group forward. The homelessness prevention and strategy group, which I co-chair alongside the spokesperson, Councillor Elena Whitham, will oversee the development of the implementation plan for not only the action group's recommendations, but also those from the local government and communities committees' report on homelessness. Local authorities are already carrying out excellent work across Scotland to prevent and tackle homelessness. We, along with local government, the third sector and wider public sector partners, have been working hard to prevent homelessness in Scotland over many years. I pass on my sincere thanks to all of them for their work. All of that is being done in the face of the UK Government's programme of welfare changes, which is making life harder for so many people across our country. By the end of this decade, £4 billion in benefit cuts will come out of Scotland, pushing people into debt, rent arrears, the uses of food banks and will push more folk into crisis. Although we are spending a record £125 million this year on welfare mitigation to protect those on low incomes, much of which is mitigating the awful bedroom tax, we need to be vigilant about those situations. We know from reports such as the national audit office and crisis reports that have pointed to the devastating impact that those welfare cuts are having, which is leading to more homelessness, and that is predicted to rise despite our efforts to mitigate the impact. It is vital therefore that we continue to work in partnership with all local authorities and we continue our engagement with the housing options hubs, as that has been a key to embedding a prevented approach to homelessness. Can we end homelessness in Scotland? I, we can, but it is important that we get it right and bed and change and improvement for the long term. We need to make the most of the current opportunity and ensure that all parts of the public and third sector are aligned in their aims and activities. We need to develop a system that helps those who need it most wherever they are. I am proud to say that, where homelessness does occur, Scotland already has some of the strongest housing rights for homeless people in the world. We have strong foundations and, thanks to the action group, a compelling and positive vision for the future. I look forward to working towards ending homelessness and rough sleeping for good in our country. The minister will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I will allow around 20 minutes for questions, after which we have to move on to the next out-of-business class members who wish to ask a question to press their buttons across to speak buttons now. I call First Lady and Graham Simpson, Mr Simpson, please. Thank you. I thank the minister for advance sight of what turned out to be a particularly woolly statement. I also congratulate him on keeping his job. He is committed to accepting the recommendations of the action group in principle, yet he has said little in detail today about what he means by this. There is nothing concrete in this statement, no bricks and mortar, to help the homeless. I agree with the minister that we can end homelessness, but we need more than warm words. Can I ask some specific questions? Hasag has spoken in the past about housing first. The phrase does not appear in today's recommendations, so I am assuming that rapid rehousing is the same thing. Can the minister say in detail how he plans to roll out housing first across Scotland, where, how many units and at what cost? Can I ask about another area, recommendation 6, which deals with people constituting the highest proportion getting into rough sleeping? The report talks about people leaving public institutions and those with previous experience of those institutions such as prison, mental health service, services and armed forces. That is particularly important, given that the number of homeless applicants formerly in the armed services in Scotland increased by 11 per cent in the last year. Does the minister have any specific announcements that would help those most vulnerable people? A 10-minute statement to Parliament does not give the minister the opportunity to respond to all 70 recommendations that are being put forward by Hasag, but I think that one of the things that Mr Simpson should recognise is that today I announced £21 million worth of funding to allow for rapid rehousing and housing first to be rolled out in specific areas first and then across the country. Beyond that, we have brought together funding from other portfolios to ensure that those folks who have addiction problems are dealt with in an appropriate manner and that that funding follows the person itself. As Mr Simpson is well aware, I have had numerous meetings with colleagues right across the Government and with stakeholders right across the country to make sure that we get our approach absolutely right in that. That does mean getting service provision aligned and he talked about folks who were leaving public institutions. He will know that we currently have the care review going on and I want to make sure that everyone who leaves care is given the appropriate opportunity to access housing. We are all corporate parents and we have a duty, as we do, to our own children, nephews and nieces to make sure that we get this right. Beyond that, in terms of public institutions, he will be aware that, in terms of the Scottish Prison Service, the shore standards have now been put in place just recently in November last year, if I remember rightly, to get it right for those who are leaving prison. Mr Simpson talks of bricks and mortar and we need more bricks and mortar. That is why this Government is investing £3 billion to deliver 50,000 affordable homes, 35,000 of those for social rent during the course of this Parliament. That is the biggest housing programme for decades—certainly the biggest housing programme since devolution. If Mr Simpson wants to persuade his colleagues at the Treasury to release the purse strings to allow for more capital spend in Scotland, I am sure that I could oblige him by spending a little bit more. Pauline McNeill, please. On behalf of Labour, I thank the working group chaired by John Sparks for the incredible work that they have done on tackling homelessness. Homelessness is a real crisis in our society witnessed every day on the streets of Scotland. The minister did not mention that it is the fourth year in a row that the number of children living in temporary accommodation is risen by 9 per cent. Those families spent an average of 2,004 days. I would like the minister's assurance that those children and families will be a priority, given that the current Government has had a decade so far to deal with it. Rough sleeping on our streets is on the rise. People are dying on our streets. Homelessness is a matter for some every 18 minutes. In fact, applications are up 1 per cent. Contrary to the statement that the minister has outlined, does the minister agree that tackling homelessness must be an integral part of the poverty agenda? It must become a priority for public health. The significant rise in those with mental health issues losing their tendencies tells us that it is more than bricks and mortars. Will the minister tell me today to what extent is he planning to have discussions with the new cabinet secretary for health to make sure that those views are represented at the cabinet table? Finally, in a recent Unison research, 69 per cent of council work has identified that the lack of front-line staff is a key issue in bringing those services together. Will the minister outline exactly what resources he will ensure that local government services have to deliver homelessness services? The £21 million is welcome. However, how is he going to conclude that the well-injected recommendations are complete? I thank Ms McNeill for her questions. Although homelessness applications have fallen by 39 per cent in the past decade, it is unfortunate that there has been that 1 per cent rise. I share her belief that no children should be sleeping in unsuitable temporary accommodation. That is one of the reasons why I have already reduced the time that can be spent in unsuitable temporary accommodation from 14 days to 7 days for families and pregnant women. I do not want to see anyone in unsuitable temporary accommodation. We have to remember that 80 per cent of families with children are in mainstream housing. I want to drive that percentage much higher. Obviously, I will have to co-operate with local authority partners to ensure that we make some real differences there. It would be fair to say that many local authorities are doing very well in that regard. There are one or two that need to do a huge amount more in that regard. On the intertwining of homelessness and other services, homelessness is not just about housing. It is absolutely vital that we ensure that services are aligned to ensure that people are supported in their homes. That is why I have already had discussions with ministerial colleagues from across portfolios, including in public health and mental health, as Ms McNeill outlined, around about their commitment to driving forward the change that is required. I will continue to do so with new ministerial colleagues as well. Ms McNeill can be assured of that. Ms McNeill asked about the £21 million specifically. The £21 million is for that transformational change to allow the investment to move to rapid rehousing and housing first in a number of areas. She asked about the future. We have seen in Liverpool with their housing first pilot there that the analysis by Crisis says that, after a point, the use of housing first becomes cost-neutral. I think that we could do more to learn about those examples of that. I am sure that Ms McNeill would be happy if I sent her further detail on that. I intend to go elsewhere during the course of the summer to see how they have done and to test some of the things that have been said. I understand that, when the two front benches ask questions, we have longer answers, we have longer questions, but I now have 10 minutes and 11 questionnaires. You can do the arithmetic. I want to try to get through it, so I am going to ask for short questions and short answers, please. I call first Bob Doris, followed by Michelle Ballantyne. Presiding Officer, I welcome one of the substantial recommendations in the report to reform the funding system for temporary accommodation, often high-cost and low-quality. That would include the devolution of housing benefit and greater support for those who are homeless. Can I therefore ask the Scottish Government how it will map out with COSLA how that would work in practice and when it would intend to make representations to the Scottish Government, so the UK Government, rather, in relation to this matter? Presiding Officer, I want to ensure that we fully understand the overall impact of those six recommendations around temporary accommodation and the finances of that. I have agreed already to work in partnership with COSLA to gather robust financial data from local authorities and officials will be working over the course of this summer, Presiding Officer, to gather that intelligence that will allow us to make an informed decision about the consequences of funding being devolved. I can assure Parliament that I will keep them up to date on all of that. I would like to thank COSLA very much for their full co-operation in all of that as we move forward. Michelle Ballantyne, followed by Kenneth Gibson. Noting your statement that you have accepted in principle all the recommendations and that you will take forward any of your power, I want to turn you to recommendation 3. Many of the organisations that I have met with, while in principle agreeing to the recommendation— No, please, just get to the question. I am sorry, please get to the question. This is the question that expressed a number of concerns about how that will be delivered, both financially in terms of housing stock. Does the minister have any costings for this recommendation and does he have any concerns about meeting this challenge? Minister, can I have a short answer, please? I can find recommendation 3. It is not at my fingertips at this moment, but what I can say to Ms Ballantyne is that, in all that we do, we will continue to talk to stakeholders to ensure that we can implement those recommendations. Some of that is not going to be easy, but what I would say is that in terms of our partners and local government and housing associations in the third sector and right across that stakeholder group, they are up for this. Now is the time to take the action, to achieve our ambition, to end rough sleeping and end homelessness in Scotland, and we will report back to Parliament as we progress. I know without a doubt that there will be further scrutiny from the local government and communities committee, and I look forward to that. I welcome the statement. What specific focus will the Scottish Government give to women who have been made homeless as a result of domestic violence? That is one of the things that has affected me the most. I met a group of women from Fife who put together a really immense report about the situations that they faced, where they, rather than the perpetrator of the crimes against them, were the ones who were being punished. I think that we need to have a look at the legislation that we have in place at this moment to see whether we can improve on all that, because I think that some of the things that are currently happening are unacceptable. The homelessness prevention and strategy group that I co-chair will look at all the recommendations and will scrutinise the action plan and drive that forward. I know that there are a number of folk around that table who will be looking very closely at the situation that women and families who face domestic abuse have gone through and how we can improve their situation in the future. There are 560 more children in temporary accommodation than there were last year. I have one constituent who is living in the most horrendous circumstances just now with an 18-month-year-old baby. Given that 70 per cent of all unsuitable accommodation breaches were in Edinburgh, can I ask the housing minister what direct conversations he has had with the leadership of the council to address the scandal in our capital city? I regularly meet with councillors from across the country and I met the housing convener from Edinburgh just this morning at the launch of the last set of recommendations. I have made it quite clear to local authorities that it is unacceptable to breach the unauthorised time limits. I will continue to drive that forward. I know that Edinburgh is working at this moment with its own action group, which is cross-party support. I know that, significantly, a number of the members of that group are the leaders of their groups on that council. I hope, with their help, that we can see real change here in Edinburgh. We are investing heavily in housing here in Edinburgh, but one of the things that we also need to do is look at allocation. Although the allocation policy of the council is right in terms of 73 per cent of people going to homeless, housing associations here in the capital city could do better in that regard. I know that Councillor Campbell will be talking to them in the very near future to ask for additional support and help from them. She has that support from me. Andy Wightman, Paul Ballack, Cole-Hamilton. I welcome minister's statement. Given that tenants can be evicted via schedule 3 of the private housing tenses Scotland act 2016, if a landlord or creditor intends to sell the property or if the landlord wishes to use the property for a purpose other than providing someone with a home such as renting out as a short-term let, does the minister agree that private rented sector tenants need greater security than they currently have? Minister, as Mr Wightman knows, since I took office, we have provided greater security for private sector tenants. I will continue to look at the private sector rented situation and see what more we can do. I am always willing to talk to Mr Wightman about some of those issues. If he wants to come and speak to me further about it, I am happy to meet him. Recommendation 5 covers provision for emergency accommodation for those migrant homeless population without recourse to public funds. Does the minister recognise as a particular group within that of women with insecure immigration status who are fleeing domestic abuse situations often with children supported by groups such as Shakti in our nation's capital? Does he accept that generic provision of emergency accommodation for that group may be unsuitable? Will he look to providing a bespoke solution for those women? I think that there are some difficulties around me giving a commitment to that here today because of the nonsense that is around about legislation on no recourse to public funds. I think that it would be much better if we joined as a Parliament to say that the no recourse to public funds policies of the UK Government are unacceptable and that it should remove them. I have talked to the UK Housing and Homelessness Minister around about those issues. Ms Wheeler has said that she is determined, Presiding Officer, to move forward in eradicating homelessness south of the border. I think that one of the greatest challenges that we have here in eradicating rough sleeping and homelessness here in Scotland is the no recourse to public funds situation. We have also had discussions with COSLA—my officials have had discussions with COSLA—and we are working our way through to see exactly what we can or cannot do in that regard. I expect them to report back soon on those issues. Beyond that, my colleagues in Government have written to numerous UK ministers asking them to get rid of this policy, which is having a real impact on many people who we welcomed here and who we should be continuing to support. How can the work of the homelessness and rough sleeping action group, alongside the Government's pre-existing work with local authorities, help to highlight and tackle rural homelessness? Although a huge amount of the focus is always on urban areas, I want to ensure that all areas of our country benefit from our strong homelessness rights and that they have the same opportunities as those living in cities. Rightly, each local authority works to its own local context, and that is recognised by the action group. However, the focus should be on the prevention of homelessness through person-centred housing options approaches. All 32 local authorities are involved in the housing options hubs, which promote and develop best practice to improve those services. If Ms Ross has specific problems in Caithness and Sutherland, I would be keen to hear about them because, although we have heard voices from rural Scotland, we could be doing with a few more of those voices being heard. There must be crisp questions and short answers, please, so that everybody gets those short. Mr Balfour, you set the bar. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Social Bight in Edinburgh has committed 800 homes for housing first. To support those individuals will cost a minimum of £6 million a year. Will the minister ensure that the Scottish Government underwrites local authorities' commitments to house and support the citizens of house and support services for as long as they need it? One of the things is that, at this moment in time, local authorities are responsible for homelessness, and they are spending homelessness budgets. For example, Glasgow's budget is some £70 million a year. What we are doing is ensuring that we put in place moneys that can transform services. It is absolutely vital that we do that. As I said earlier, evidence shows that, after implementation of housing first, costs are cost-neutral. We will support not only local authorities but social bight and others in terms of making sure that we get that right. I also expect local authorities to use their current budgets the best way that they possibly can to ensure that we move away from spending on unsuitable temporary accommodation, which we spend a lot of in certain cities, like Edinburgh, and focus that money on delivering for people in their own tenancies. Ruth Maguire will follow by Jackie Baillie. Can I ask the minister for further detail on how the £21 million will be used to ensure that change is implemented quickly and at scale? As Ms Maguire said, we are making up to £21 million of the ending homelessness together fund available to help councils and partners to develop housing first locally. We will work closely with them to ensure that the funding leads to necessary change and to understand more about how we can ensure that housing first programmes are sustainable alongside the wider work of housing services in every local authority in Scotland. We will also work with local authorities as they develop their rapid rehousing transition plans by the end of the year. Jackie Baillie will follow by Gordon MacDonald. Labour provided £36 million to end rough sleeping in the first Parliament, the Scottish Government has so far provided £328,000. How much more will be allocated specifically to tackle rough sleeping and what action will it take to improve the measurement of rough sleeping? I would say that we have put the £50 million ending homelessness together fund. In terms of rough sleeping this winter, we provided £328,000, as Ms Baillie knows, but it is not all about money. One of the things that was wrapped up in that £328,000 was personal budgeting, giving folk on the front line the flexibility to provide for the needs of people that they came across in the streets. That budget was £50,000, £25,000 for Edinburgh and £25,000 for Glasgow. In fact, the budget itself only spent £17,000 but made a huge difference to rough sleepers in both those cities. We will continue to look at those changes in delivery, many of which have worked. There will be full published analysis of that spend in the very near future, and I am sure that members will want to look at that closely indeed. What is the minister's view on the key recommendations of the action group that have made that could mark a real step change in eradicating rough sleeping and reducing homelessness? I think that one of the key things is getting housing first absolutely right and making sure that we do not just give people houses, we give them the support that they require, that each individual requires. That is the key to all of that. There is commitment in terms of my officials, there is commitment from local government partners, there is commitment right across the third sector, and there is commitment from all of this government to make this work. Together we can realise our ambition of ending rough sleeping and ending homelessness in our country. I am sorry to rush you but I have had to overrun by eight minutes to get you all in. We must have crisp questions and answers. That cannot always happen. I am going to give a slight break as the front bench changes over for the next debate but be very brief.