Thanks to your support, we’re delighted to share news of a major victory in our campaign to hold Glasgow City Council accountable for failures in its provision of homelessness services. More than 10,000 of you raised your voices in protest – and now you have been heard.
In August last year, we decided it was time to step up our campaign. We’d repeatedly tried and failed to engage with Glasgow City Council. And then came the publication of the annual statistics showing a year-on-year rise in number of times they had breached their legal duty to homeless people.
So, we asked the court for a judicial review into their ‘unlawful practice’ of denying vulnerable people temporary accommodation, specifically asking:
- to declare that Glasgow City Council is acting unlawfully
- to request that they submit a revised homelessness strategy guaranteeing temporary accommodation for every homeless person who needs it
We also asked for your support to help us #standupforjustice for those affected. In response, you crowdfunded nearly £17,000 and more than 10,000 of you added your voice to our petition calling for change and to protect homeless people’s rights all across Scotland.
Forcing real change on the ground
Less than three hours before our case was due to be heard in court, news came through that the Scottish Housing Regulator would be stepping in to investigate weaknesses in the council’s provision of homelessness services.
This has renewed our hope that this injustice can be put to an end, and we stand ready to provide the Regulator with evidence to assist with its inquiry. If necessary, we will also return to court.
To achieve this breakthrough in such a short time – after more than six years of raising our concerns over the council’s failures – proves the value of both your voice in calling for change and the power of taking such unprecedented action.
It also means we no longer need to proceed with our legal case as our primary objective is being met.
A thank you from all of us at Shelter Scotland
As Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, says: ‘This historic and long overdue intervention by the Scottish Housing Regulator is the material change required to bring Glasgow City Council’s provision of homelessness services under proper scrutiny.
‘I would like to say a huge thank you to our amazing legal team and to every supporter who threw their weight behind this campaign.’
We couldn’t have done this without the support of people like you.
Find out more about our campaigns and join the movement today