Homelessness

I feel it's important to find out as much as I can about how different services in the Council work, particularly when a paper is coming up in front of a committee I sit on. That might not sound unusual, but trust me, when I notice Labour Councillors chatting, reading newspapers or checking up on the cinema listings during committee, I feel that the opposition on the Council are the only ones doing the leg work. The SNP group often recieve briefings, and do a lot of digging before we go to Committee. It's the responsible thing to do.

We've had a couple of reports in recent months on homelessness. I've been to visit the Women's hostel in the south side, an alcohol hostel in my ward, and saw round Bell Street before it closed. Having attended a recent 'one year on' event, I went out on a "shadow shift" last Tuesday night with members of staff from the Glasgow Street Service.

The Street Service is formed from a partnership between the Simon Community and Barnardo's, who previously ran separate services in the city. The website puts it thus:

GSS provides advice and support to access accommodation and other services such as medical, addiction and mental health services.

They offer practical help and emotional support to those sleeping rough, at risk of sleeping rough or becoming homeless and those having difficulties accessing other services.

There's a great deal of behind the scenes work, advocacy and casework that I didn't get to see last Tuesday; what I did do was accompany KB, an outreach worker, as she went round the city centre. KB pointed out spots where people are likely to be found rough sleeping, and talked about the way in which the team go about their work. Contact with their clients comes through face to face interaction, and a free phone number 0800 027 7466. Arrangements are made to meet with clients at times suitable for them and help offered.

The difficulty comes in finding accommodation to prevent people from sleeping outside; there are just not enough beds, or homes for people to move on to. A gap exists between the closure of old, inadequate large scale hostels, and building more small scale units; this is filled to some extent by expensive B&B accommodation and services purchased from other providers.

The locations of various projects were pointed out to me, and I was quite surprised at the number of places in or near the city centre which I had walked passed not knowing their purpose. We visited a project in Tradeston which helps people recover from alcohol problems, and popped into a soup kitchen near Central Station where people can get advice and a hot meal. I was taken aback at the number of people at the soup kitchen. The scale of homelessness in Glasgow is somewhat hidden from view; there are so many who depend on charitable services to help them to get by.

Times are difficult in the Council; spending cut backs are very real. I wonder though how much more services like this can take. This contrasts hugely with the Commonwealth Games (will at least bring more much-needed housing) and the money Labour politicians are demanding for GARL.

As with any visit I've done, I'll certainly think on what I saw and heard, and hope to work towards a better solution. Thanks to all the staff who supported me.

Planning for Glasgow's Future

I was amused to read an article in The Herald today which frets that "erratic planning decisions ‘may drive away city investors’". The article goes on to warn that personal taste shouldn't come into decisions made by the planning committee of Glasgow City Council. Initially, I was curious about who exactly the "senior Council source" quoted is - perhaps someone who was upset at having a decision rejected at an earlier Planning Committee? I'm not on the Planning Committee, so I would hesitate to guess who...

It made me think though - while the City Plan sets out various planning guidelines and principles, surely aesthetic values must have some place. Everyone has their own personal tastes - and that's a good thing. I'd decorate a room one way, my neighbour will choose something entirely different. So why should the influence of personal taste stop completely at the doors of the committee room? Otherwise, what kind of city will we end up with? If it's a city where buildings are juxtaposed entirely inappropriately, will that not also "drive away city investors"? If some Councillors recognise something is ghastly, hideous or tacky, surely citizens of Glasgow and visitors to our city might just think the same? Much discussion is had on message boards like Hidden Glasgow over the merits of developments in the city, and many good points are raised. Important decisions on the future shape of Glasgow should also be allowed to be made both with the head and with the heart.

This issue also throws up a pet peeve of mine - that the Council is fast becoming (I'll be generous and say it isn't yet!) a rubber stamp for developers and the Evening Times. Decisions should be made because they're correct, not because they're convenient!