Lothian Conservative MSP Miles Briggs has called on SNP and Green Minister to do more to support Edinburgh Council in preventing homelessness.
Yesterday the city council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee met to discuss challenges facing the capital.
Councillors raised concerns that the number of people presenting as homeless would rise over the next few months. Between 1st April 2020 and 30 June 2021, 2,550 people presented to the Council as homeless.
The number of household in temporary accommodation increased from 3,570 in March 2020 to 4,431 in March 2021, an increase of 24%.
Mr Briggs has also supported calls for tenants to contact Edinburgh Council if they are having trouble paying their rent to help resolve the issue sooner rather than later.
The pledge to end homelessness across Scotland by the end of this Parliament has received cross party support, with Lothian MSP Miles Briggs going even further, calling for homelessness to be ended by 2023.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said:“If we are going to end homelessness in Scotland then the first step is to prevent people becoming homeless.
“Charities, such as Crisis, do excellent work to stop people becoming homeless, by working with Private landlords and Edinburgh Council.
“In Edinburgh we face unique challenges to preventing homelessness and SNP/ Green Ministers are not providing enough support to prevent people from becoming homeless.
“I will be meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government later this month to discuss these issues in greater detail.”
World Suicide Prevention Day takes place next Friday – 10th September 2021. This year the international theme is ‘Creating Hope Through Action’.
NHS 24 are encouraging everybody to think about taking one simple action to create hope and support ourselves and people around us who might be struggling, before pressures become a crisis. NHS 24 are supporters of United to Prevent Suicide.
The short animation ‘Ask, Tell – A healthy conversation’ gives practical tips on how and when to have compassionate conversations with people who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts or mental distress.
Anyone in Scotland in need of urgent help with their mental health can contact the NHS 24 Mental Health Hub on 111. This service is available 24/7/365.
Many people who call are experiencing thoughts or worries about suicide. The teams are able to help in a number of ways with compassionate listening, strategies to stay safe, or referral to support services for practical help with problems such as money or relationships.
Some callers are referred to their GP or community mental health team. Occasionally they refer callers to emergency services. NHS 24 work closely with the Scottish Ambulance Service and Police Scotland to offer a compassionate, appropriate, safe response to everyone calling.
The Breathing Space service is a confidential phone line for anyone in Scotland over the age of 16, feeling low, anxious or depressed.
Open Monday – Thursday 6pm to 2am, and all weekend Friday 6pm -Monday 6am.
Call free on 0800 83 85 87
Donald Macintyre, Associate Medical Director, NHS 24 said: “Taking care of our mental health has been so important during the pandemic.
“I would encourage everyone to take a small action to improve their own wellbeing and to learn about safe ways to have what might be a difficult conversation with someone who may be struggling. Often a brief, caring chat can have a major impact. Our mental health teams are here to offer a compassionate response to anyone who needs urgent help.”
An action could be as simple as trying out the new Mental Wellbeing Signposting tool on NHS inform, which helps users navigate to free online courses provided by the SilverCloud platform or to the most helpful mental wellbeing resources on NHSinform.
SilverCloud courses have been designed by clinical experts and provide support for a range of conditions including sleep problems, general mental wellbeing and stress.
Both UK and Scottish Governments provide humanitarian aid
The UK Government will be releasing up to £30 million of life-saving aid to Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to help those who choose to leave Afghanistan as part of the Government’s efforts to support regional stability.
£10 million will be made available immediately to humanitarian partners, such as the UNHCR, to enable essential supplies such as shelters to be despatched to the Afghan borders as well as setting up sanitation and hygiene facilities.
A further £20 million will be allocated to countries that experience a significant increase in refugees to support reception and registration facilities and provide essential services and supplies.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “It is vital that we help those fleeing Afghanistan and do not allow the crisis there to undermine regional stability.
“That’s why these life-saving supplies are so important. They will provide Afghans who have left everything behind with essential kit offering shelter and basic sanitation as they seek to pick up the pieces of their lives. This aid demonstrates the UK’s commitment to shoulder our humanitarian responsibility and support those countries who will face the greatest demands for those displaced.”
This is the first tranche of the additional funding, announced by the Prime Minister in response to the crisis when he doubled the UK’s aid contribution to Afghanistan to £286 million this year.
The security and political instability in Afghanistan has compounded an already dire humanitarian situation for the Afghan population with 550,000 people displaced within Afghanistan since the start of the year and significant increases in refugees moving across Afghanistan’s borders in recent weeks.
The UNHCR estimates a worst case scenario of over 500,000 refugees fleeing the country to Pakistan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the coming months.
The disbursement of aid comes as the Foreign Secretary continues his visit to the region for talks on Afghanistan with the focus on securing safe passage for UK nationals and eligible Afghans as well as the Government’s four international priorities – preventing Afghanistan becoming a haven for terrorists; responding to the humanitarian plight; safeguarding regional stability; and holding the Taliban to account on human rights.
The UK announced the uplift in aid to Afghanistan on 18 August 2021, bringing UK funding for this year to £286 million here.
The UK’s total aid contribution to the country since 2001 is now around £3.5 billion.
Scotland commits £250,000 for urgent aid
Critical help for the people of Afghanistan worth £250,000 is to be made available from the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund (HEF).
External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson, who led a Hplyrood debate yesterday on the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan, said the funds will be dedicated to aid those in peril and need.
The Scottish Government is in close contact with the charities involved in the HEF to determine how support can be delivered safely and effectively.
The announcement follows the commitment by the Scottish Government to play its full part in the resettlement of Afghan refugees.
The Scottish Government also continues to call on the UK Government to provide further details of the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme as soon as possible.
Mr Robertson said: “We have all been moved by the current crisis in Afghanistan and stand ready to help those in need at this critical time.
“We have activated the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund and this £250,000 will provide crucial help to those desperately in need in the midst of this harrowing crisis. And this is additional to the financial commitment the Scottish people already make to the UK’s aid budget through tax contributions.
“The UK Government has said that its aid to Afghanistan will be doubled, and that is a step in the right direction – but ultimately amounts to nothing more than a reversal of previous major cuts to aid to Afghanistan.
“A tragedy is engulfing Afghanistan. We are ready and willing to play our part – Scotland will not only provide humanitarian assistance, but is committed to playing a full role in assisting, and welcoming, the resettlement and relocation of Afghans at risk.”
