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Scotland reconvenes homelessness group to help develop post-coronavirus plan

The Scottish government has reconvened its Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) to review the country’s plans to end homelessness in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Scottish housing minister Kevin Stewart (picture: Scottish government)
Scottish housing minister Kevin Stewart (picture: Scottish government)
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The Scottish government has reconvened its Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group to help development post-pandemic plans #ukhousing

“I have asked the group to work at pace to consider where things need to go next if we are to end homelessness” – @KevinStewartSNP #ukhousing

Scottish housing minister Kevin Stewart announced that the group would reunite for a short time under its former chair Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis.

Mr Stewart said: “As in the previous work, HARSAG will frame their work around a number of key questions and this will be in light of the new situation we are in due to COVID-19 to inform a homelessness recovery plan.”

He added: “I have asked the group to work at pace to consider where things need to go next if we are to end homelessness.”


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HARSAG was set up to recommend to the Scottish government proposals to end rough sleeping and transform temporary accommodation in Scotland.

In 2018, it contributed to the government’s action plan to end homelessness and rough sleeping, which sets out how the government and councils will work together to end homelessness in Scotland.

In response to the coronavirus crisis, the government recently accelerated once of the recommendations from HARSAG, which will ban councils from housing homeless people in hotels and B&Bs for more than seven days after the lockdown is over.

This means councils will need to find alternative accommodation for the hundreds of rough sleepers who have currently been placed in emergency accommodation during the pandemic.

In a blog post, Mr Sparkes said: “The Scottish government is developing a plan for the next phase, and Crisis and many other organisations will bring forward frameworks and proposals to support this.”

“I was very pleased to be asked by housing minister Kevin Stewart MSP, to reconvene HARSAG for a one-off project to review these plans and recommend the way forward to move on from the emergency response to the pandemic in a way that accelerates the ending of homelessness in Scotland.”

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