THE Government should follow industry's lead and do more to help
reduce homelessness in Britain, according to Shelter, the charity which
campaigns for homeless people.
Speaking at the launch of a book to raise funds for the charity in
Glasgow yesterday, Ms Sheila McKechnie, Shelter director, said that
although the charity was receiving more support than ever from companies
the Government was preventing local authorities from tackling the
problem.
She said: ''The number of large well-known companies which have
started to work with Shelter has increased greatly. Many have been
involved in fund-raising and many more have been doing lots of lobbying
with us.
''I want the Government to recognise the importance of investment in
housing in terms of job creation and improving the quality of life.''
She added: ''Putting money into the building industry makes economic
sense and what is special about housing is its capacity to keep us
coming out of inflation in a safe way.''
Mr David Orr, director of the Scottish Federation of Housing
Associations, said local authorities were spending almost nothing on
investment in housing because of ''arcane'' Treasury rules on the Public
Sector Borrowing Requirement.
''Local authorities' expenditure on housing is all from internal
accounts, not new investment. There are plenty of councils in Scotland
which would like to be able to go to banks and building societies and
borrow money with the security on their assets, but the Government
doesn't allow them to do that because any borrowing of that kind is
charged against the PSBR.''
Recent statistics show that 39,100 households in Scotland applied to
district and islands councils for help under homeless persons
legislation last year.
Shelter yesterday launched a book, Under Cover, to celebrate its 25th
anniversary. Sponsored by the Post Office, the book is an anthology of
poems and writing by 50 of Scotland's leading writers, including William
McIlvanney, Liz Lochhead, Norman MacCaig, and Jeff Torrington.
Under Cover, Mainstream, #6.99. All royalties go to Shelter.
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