Councils are still sending homeless people to a private hostel stripped of its licence last year, it was revealed last night.
At least four authorities are continuing to refer clients, some with severe addiction problems, to the Parkview B&B in the south side of Glasgow.
The hostel, which has been officially linked with a rise in crime in the neighbourhood, had its licence revoked by licensing officials last November. It remains open, however, while its owner, McKever Hotels, tries to reverse the decision.
South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and Stirling councils have admitted to Charlie Gordon MSP, in whose Cathcart constituency Parkview is sited, that they are still sending homeless people to the hostel. Mr Gordon believes they may be breaking the law by doing so.
Last night he said: "I have gathered evidence that certain councils may be breaking the law by dumping homeless people in places like Parkview without proper professional support. Local residents are left to pick up the pieces."
Mr Gordon fears councils sending clients to Glasgow are no longer able to offer them the services needed for issues such as alcoholism and drug abuse.
Renfrewshire Council, in the financial year that ended in March, sent 90 adults and nine children to Parkview. In the year before it only "presented" 14 people, all adults.
Inverclyde has increased the number of people it refers to the hostel from 77 in 2005-2006 to 244 in 2006-2007. Over the same period, Stirling also stepped up use of the hostel, from just three clients to 57. South Lanarkshire reduced the numbers it sent to the hostel. Other councils, including Glasgow and North Lanarkshire, have stopped using Parkview.
The 53-bed hostel, in Queens Drive, is one of several in the district. Another, the Queens Park Hotel, is also owned by McKever. Police were called to deal with a disturbance there on Sunday.
The Herald's sister paper, the Evening Times, last year obtained official documents showing high crime levels in the immediate vicinity of both Parkview B&B and Queens Park Hotel.
Councils, however, stress that they are reluctant to send homeless people to B&Bs unless absolutely necessary.
Glasgow City Council has previously warned that families with children were being sent to the same hostels as sex offenders because local authorities were not checking with their neighbours before placing homeless people of different types in the same accommodation.
A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council said: "Like other authorities, we only use bed and breakfast in other areas as a last resort when we can't find short-stay accommodation locally."
McKever Hotels could not be contacted for comment last night.
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