§ Dr. Godmanasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what information he has as to how many women live in women's refuges in Scotland at present; and what was the figure for each year since 1979;
(2) what information he has as to how many women at present living in women's refuges in Scotland have been living there for 10 weeks or more in each of the local authority areas in Scotland.
§ Mr. AncramThe information requested is not held centrally.
§ Dr. Godmanasked the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will make a statement on his Department's guidelines to local authorities in Scotland for re-housing women who have left home due to domestic violence, and who are living in temporary accommodation.
§ Mr. AncramThe allocation of council houses is primarily the responsibility of the housing authority concerned, and the Scottish Development Department has not issued guidelines on this specific subject. The 1980 report by a sub-committee of the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee on the "Allocation and Transfer of Council Houses" made general recommendations for local authority allocation policies and included, at chapter 4, advice on housing separated spouses. In addition the Housing (Scotland) Bill makes amendments to the Tenants' Rights Etc (Scotland) Act 1980 which will prevent discrimination against applicants for council housing on the grounds of their marital status.