r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	dandee95
Comment	Yeah this has been a massive problem in Glasgow (and other local authorities) for years, but I think you are slightly confused about the nature of the legal action shelter is proposing to take. Previously action by organisations such as Govan Law Centre, Legal Service Agency and Shelter Scotland has been on the basis of individual cases of homeless applicants who have been denied temp accommodation. As you say the procedure in individual cases is to ask the council to provide temp accommodation , threatened JR if not provided and then usually the council roll over. The problem with this approach is that once the council provide temp accommodation to the individual applicant there is no longer a basis on which a JR can be launched as the council has fulfilled thier legal duties to that individual. Therefore no further legal action can be taken against the council, hence why the council roll over so quickly when threatened. The problem is: a) individual should be forced to seek help from a third party to access thier legal rights (which often means they have to resort to rough sleeping until the action is resolved) and b) what about the individuals who are not approaching these organisations help for what ever reason. What this particular action is seeking to do is to challenge the council on a systemic level rather than individual level and is not based on an individual case but evidence of a large number of cases. Effectively shelter are trying to get the court to declare that GCC are routinely breaking the law, and require them to take some steps to address this on a systematic level. This type of action hasn't been raised before against any local authority in Soctland. But of course the meantime Govan Law Centre, Legal Services Agency and Shelter Scotland will continue the vital work of challanging GCC on individual cases.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/dc7npm/council_faces_legal_action_over_homelessness/f27gtzv/
Created	Wed 2nd Oct 2019 6:38pm
Status	()

Yeah this has been a massive problem in Glasgow (and other local authorities) for years, but I think you are slightly confused about the nature of the legal action shelter is proposing to take.

Previously action by organisations such as Govan Law Centre, Legal Service Agency and Shelter Scotland has been on the basis of individual cases of homeless applicants who have been denied temp accommodation. As you say the procedure in individual cases is to ask the council to provide temp accommodation , threatened JR if not provided and then usually the council roll over.

The problem with this approach is that once the council provide temp accommodation to the individual applicant there is no longer a basis on which a JR can be launched as the council has fulfilled thier legal duties to that individual. Therefore no further legal action can be taken against the council, hence why the council roll over so quickly when threatened. The problem is: a) individual should be forced to seek help from a third party to access thier legal rights (which often means they have to resort to rough sleeping until the action is resolved) and b) what about the individuals who are not approaching these organisations help for what ever reason.

What this particular action is seeking to do is to challenge the council on a systemic level rather than individual level and is not based on an individual case but evidence of a large number of cases. Effectively shelter are trying to get the court to declare that GCC are routinely breaking the law, and require them to take some steps to address this on a systematic level. This type of action hasn't been raised before against any local authority in Soctland.

But of course the meantime Govan Law Centre, Legal Services Agency and Shelter Scotland will continue the vital work of challanging GCC on individual cases.