France takes lead from Scotland on tackling homelessness

The Auld Alliance was revived this week after the French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, said that Paris had copied Scotland's legally enforceable right to housing, and promised to introduce a similar measure throughout France.

This led to a flurry of media activity as representatives of the French press and TV swept into Edinburgh to learn about how things were done in Scotland's capital.

Councillor Sheila Gilmore, Executive member for Community Safety and Housing at the City of Edinburgh Council found herself facing a string of interviews as French journalists queued up at the City Chambers.

Councillor Gilmore said that although the attention was unexpected she was nonetheless pleased that policies developed in Scotland had been recognised abroad.

She said: "Social Justice, and issues such as the right to decent housing, is at the heart of Scottish thinking on how a society should organise itself and that is obviously something that the French are interested in.

"We showed them some of our facilities for homeless people and talked about the similarities, and the differences, between the two capital cities.

"Ultimately, what makes a difference for both our countries is the supply of affordable housing. France built 430,000 new homes last year, 140,000 of which were social housing.

"Here in Edinburgh we need to build 12,000 new affordable homes over the next ten years but only have the funding for 3,000.

"We are talking to the Scottish Executive about this impending crisis because it would be ironic if the lessons that we have learned in Edinburgh were applied in Paris but ignored at home."