Pleas to axe £33m debt owed by ­homeless people rejected by Government

Pleas to cancel a £33million debt owed by ­homeless people for ­emergency accomodation have been rejected by the Scottish Government.

The sum is due to councils for the cost of providing hostels, hotels and bed and breakfasts as a temporary place to stay.

A petition was lodged at ­Holyrood by campaigners calling on ministers to use taxpayers’ money to pay the arrears.

But the Sunday Mail can reveal it has been refused by the Scottish Government.

Anyone made homeless in ­Scotland must pay for their temporary accommodation if they are not on housing benefit.

Maeve McGoldrick, head of policy and communications for homeless charity Crisis in Scotland, said: “It’s not right that anyone should be driven into debt because they have become ­homeless.

“A one-off payment to local authorities to allow them to ­alleviate debt could provide much needed resource to help move people out of ­homelessness and into settled ­accommodation.”

Sean Clerkin, of the Scottish Tenants Organisation, lodged the petition at Holyrood two years ago.

In its subsequent response the Scottish Government said it has no plans to “waive the outstanding debt owed by homeless households”.

Clerkin said: “This shows a Scottish Government which is wholly incompetent and does not care about what happens to vulnerable homeless people.”

The £33.3million debt, which dates back more than five years, involves an ­estimated 29,000 households with many owing several thousand pounds. Two years ago we revealed councils were using debt ­collection ­agencies to pursue the arrears.

The highest homeless debt was £12.7million in Edinburgh, followed by £5million in Glasgow, £4.8million in North Lanarkshire and £4.4million in Highland.

A report by Homeless Action Scotland found 75 per cent of people in temporary accommodation were unable to afford the charges. A record 30,000 Scots are classed as homeless.