A former Moderator of the General Assembly has welcomed a new Scottish Parliament report on combating homelessness.
The Very Rev Dr Russell Barr, founder of the Fresh Start homelessness charity, said he was pleased that MSPs had recommended that a ‘housing first’ scheme, similar to a strategy used successfully in Finland, should be introduced in Scotland.
Dr Barr is a member of the Scottish Government’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group. He said: “Various themes are emerging around prevention, frontline support, measurement and monitoring, and legislation.
“But the key theme is that rapid rehousing to a permanent home becomes the default option wherever possible.”