13 hours ago
Pledge to stop women fleeing violence becoming homeless
More than one in four homeless applications from women are from those suffering domestic abuse.
James Dornan, SNP MSP for Cathcart, called for action to ensure women are not left homeless if they are forced to flee domestic abuse.
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He asked Mhairi McAllan, the Housing Secretary, to ensure safe options are available for women.
He said: 'Given that domestic abuse is the leading recorded cause of women presenting as homeless in Scotland, accounting for around 23% of female-headed homelessness applications in 2023/24, what further specific steps are being taken to ensure safe, stable and immediate housing options are available to survivors?'
The Housing Secretary said steps were being taken under the Housing Act to strengthen the safeguards for women to help women remain in their home.
She said: 'Under the Housing Bill, we will introduce a duty on all social landlords to develop and introduce a domestic abuse policy.
'This should set out how they report their tenants experiencing abuse and it includes keeping the tenant in their home and removing the perpetrator if that is what they want.'
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'We will also update the definition of domestic abuse, as it applies in housing, to take account of an increased understanding of what actually constitutes domestic abuse and the bill also introduces a duty on social landlords to fully consider domestic abuse and support individuals experiencing it if its causing any financial arrears before any legal action to recover possession of a property on account of rent arrears can be taken forward.'
McAllan said the Bill would improve the rights of women in a domestic abuse situation.
She added: 'The measures in this act mark a critical shift in preventing women's homelessness in the first place by giving social landlords greater control to transfer tenancies to a victim survivor.
'I place great priority on protecting the housing rights of women and children and those suffering domestic abuse, so I'm always open to new ways that we can do that.'
