§ Mr. ChisholmTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what assessment he has made of the London rough sleepers initiative in forming Scottish Office policy for the homeless;
(2) what action he is proposing to meet the needs of homeless 16 and 17-year-olds;
(3) how much money the Scottish Office has spent in each of the last three years on its rooflessness initiative.
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§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonScottish office policy on homelessness draws on a wide range of sources, including not only experience of initiatives elsewhere in the United Kingdom but reports directly prepared or commissioned in Scotland, for example, the 1993 Donnison report, "Young Homeless People in Scotland", and the 1994 report on the operation of the code of guidance on homelessness.
During the years 1991–92 to 1993–94, £50,000 per annum was made available to voluntary bodies under the rooflessness initiative. This programme has been followed by initiatives undertaken through voluntary bodies and by Scottish Office support for continuing projects.
Our main response to homelessness, including rooflessness, is made through support for local housing authorities, which have the primary statutory responsibility for tackling homelessness. A total of £29 million extra capital allocations were made available to housing authorities throughout Scotland during the period 1991 to 1994 for homelessness projects, many of which were for young homeless people, including those who were at risk of becoming roofless. We are also providing grants amounting to over £300,000 in 1994–95 for voluntary bodies that support homeless and roofless people, for example, the Bridges one door initiative in Edinburgh. The 1991 code of guidance on homelessness already advises that 16 to 17-year-olds may be vulnerable and hence in priority need.