Members' Business — S5M-04643 Ben Macpherson: UK Government Restrictions for 18 to 21-year-olds Accessing Financial Support for Housing

That the Parliament expresses concern at its understanding that 18 to 21-year-olds in Edinburgh and across Scotland will face restrictions in accessing financial support for housing from 1 April 2017; notes the calls on the UK Government to reconsider what it believes is its ill-conceived and harmful plans that will increase the likelihood of young people being made homeless and undermine the preventative approach to homelessness taken by local and national government in Scotland; believes that these changes are being imposed while discussions continue between the UK and Scottish governments on how the policy can be fully mitigated within existing powers; notes its disappointment with the UK Government’s short timescale for change despite assurances that options for Scotland would be considered further, which it believes makes it impossible for full mitigation arrangements to be put in place before this change comes into force; acknowledges the report, The withdrawal of support for housing costs under Universal Credit for young people: more pain for little gain?, from the homelessness charity Crisis, and Sheffield Hallam University, which suggests that many of those affected are “likely to be made more vulnerable, less secure and less able to rebuild their relationship with their parents or to keep or find a job than they were before”; notes the research of Heriot-Watt University, which estimates that, if more than 140 young people are made homeless, the policy will cost the UK Government more than the estimated and supposed savings, and believes that not all young people have the option of living with their parents and, for those who may be in a desperate or difficult situation and facing homelessness, housing support can provide stability, security and enable them to lead independent and fulfilling lives.