Glasgow homeless women still being sent to B&Bs as council hotel use rises

Homeless women are still being sent to live in B&Bs in Glasgow as the use of hotels increases due to high demand.

A Glasgow City Council meeting heard health and social care bosses are reviewing safeguarding to make sure women are supported in the accommodation.

SNP councillor Allan Casey said the length of stays in B&Bs is minimised.

The convenor for homelessness said: “Whilst we continue to have a reliance on B&B accommodation due to the level of demand there is for emergency accommodation the Health and Social Care Partnership works to minimise the length of stay within this type of accommodation.

“Women with particular needs are prioritised for supported accommodation. This includes women who have received leave to remain (given permission to live in the UK).

“In light of the increased use of hotel accommodation, we are reviewing our approach to safeguarding. This will include supporting women who are accommodated in bed and breakfast type accommodation.

“The HSCP also continues to invest resources to ensure women have access to gender-sensitive services and trauma-informed practices are delivered through a gendered lens.”

He added: “It is also important to remember that 74% of homeless households are accommodated in temporary supported accommodation or furnished accommodation within community settings.”

Casey was responding to a question from Scottish Greens councillor Martha Wardrop who asked “for details of action being taken to ensure that women who are homeless, including asylum seekers, are safely accommodated in temporary accommodation, and are not having long stays in hotels which is harmful to their life chances?”

A meeting heard in January that 1,235 homeless people were staying in bed and breakfasts or hotels.

Glasgow is seeing rises in the number of homeless applications in the city and there are concerns it will lead to more people bedding outdoors.

The UK Government has decided to speed up the application process for asylum seekers to reduce the backlog of claims. That has meant local councils must supply accommodation for people after decisions are made – causing more demand for housing.