Author: Jamie Milne

Scottish Government data exposes life-limiting toll of the Housing Emergency

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Homelessness statistics released yesterday show that the life-limiting impact of the housing emergency on people in Scotland is deepening – and risks becoming the norm with a continued absence of the action needed to solve the problem.

Households in temporary accommodation hit a record 17,240 with a 6% rise in 12 months. More than 10,000 children, enough kids to fill a town, spend long periods of their young lives stuck in temporary accommodation.

The official Scottish Government statistics for the year to March 2025 showed the average number of days people spend in this limbo is 238 days – 386 if you’re a couple with a child.

34,067 households were assessed by councils as homeless, with 31,695 open homelessness cases – the highest on record. The increase in repeat homelessness also signals a deepening cycle of instability, with people unable to secure lasting solutions amid stretched services and a shortage of social and affordable homes.

Meanwhile, the number of people reporting they slept rough the night before applying for assistance rose 28% to 2,465. Glasgow now accounts for 43% of all rough sleeping – followed by Edinburgh (8%), Fife (7%), Aberdeen City (4%), Dundee and Highland (both 3%). We know from research and lived experience evidence how dangerous that desperate course of action is.

And people were not able to exercise their right to temporary accommodation in 16,485 instances – up 106% in one year. This all combines to paint a picture of people being failed at crisis points despite the best efforts of statutory services operating under severe pressure, and shows the reality of a broken system.

More homes and more support

Earlier this month the Cabinet Secretary for Housing Màiri McAllan unveiled measures to heal that system with a housing emergency action plan. While her proposals prioritise creating more social homes and boosting support for people worst affected by the emergency, they don’t go far enough.

Above all, we need more homes. The £4.9bn spend on affordable homes announced by the Cabinet Secretary is well short of the estimated £8.2bn cost of creating the required 15,693 homes each year from 2026-2031, set out in a report by Shelter Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland.

If we are to bring these numbers down, we also need to make sure everyone has access to the support they need, delivered by a joined-up system with people at the heart.

More resource for Housing First was welcome. But with an estimated 10% of demand being met today, we need this scaled up dramatically to support people whose homelessness is made worse by severe and multiple disadvantage. This will prevent more people having to sleep rough and ultimately save money for other services including the NHS.

And looking forward, it is crucial that the new homelessness prevention measures in the Housing Bill are properly resourced and delivered, to divert more people from crisis and ease pressure on services.

Homelessness in Scotland: 2024-25 full statistics

Cabinet Secretary Housing Emergency statement: What it means for homelessness

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We welcome measures announced today by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing to tackle the impact of the housing emergency on people across Scotland. 

It is right to focus first on addressing the impact of this solvable emergency on children’s wellbeing and health, on the most disadvantaged and excluded groups in society, and on people who face real peril for want of access to safe accommodation.

And it is right to provide more investment for homes and more acquisitions. Without the right level of spending on these national priorities, homelessness and rough sleeping will only get worse, at great cost to people, communities, and the public finances.

While £4.9billion for affordable housing over the next 4 years is significant – along with a commitment to multi-year funding projections – it falls well short of the £1.64billion annual investment that is needed to bring homes in reach for everyone, according to authoritative research released today by Shelter Scotland, the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.

Rapid Rehousing and Housing First

We know Rapid Rehousing, including Housing First with wraparound support, is the right plan to reduce homelessness. Extending Rapid Rehousing Transition funding of £8million into 2026/27 will support councils to implement their Rapid Rehousing plans and provide the right housing options for everyone in their community.

A £1million uplift in Housing First funding this year can keep more people in tenancies, breaking the cycle of repeat homelessness and saving money for services people rely on when they become homeless, including the NHS, mental health, and justice.

Providing £3million for social landlords to acquire properties to deliver Housing First in targeted locations is a further positive step in scaling up Housing First, which currently meets just 9% of projected demand – a figure that has not changed from last year.

The next step must be to introduce longer-term funding arrangements and increase funding so Housing First can help more people. Local authorities and support providers are crying out for the certainty that multi-year settlements bring, for the benefit of tenants and frontline workers as well as their own vital operations.

Temporary accommodation

People who experience homelessness must have access to the same range of housing options as other members of the public. For some people, the private rented sector offers the right choice, in the right place at the right time. For that reason, investing up to £2million through the Scottish Government’s Discretionary Housing Payments scheme to support households in temporary accommodation to find settled homes in the private rented sector is also to be welcomed.

Increasing supply of good quality temporary accommodation through private sector leasing will, we hope, divert more people away from unsuitable and unsafe conditions – while also squeezing out providers who make millions by providing squalid accommodation. 

The Scottish Government can go further by creating a challenge fund to supply more good quality temporary accommodation delivered by the third sector and social landlords. Increasing supply of good quality temporary accommodation will be crucial, given the measures announced today to proactively ‘flip’ good quality temporary accommodation occupied by families with children into settled homes wherever possible. A positive measure mustn’t have a negative knock-on effect.

No rollback on rights

The Cabinet Secretary has today shown boldness and a welcome sense of urgency with her action plan. We appreciate her strong commitment to preserving existing housing rights, voiced in the chamber, and her demand that the Home Office properly fund and organise its asylum processes.

It is unrealistic to demand that the Cabinet Secretary solve the housing emergency in the remaining nine months of this parliament. But it is crucial that this momentum continues after the election in May. The next Scottish Government must build on this action, not least by stretching to meet the true cost of building the social and affordable homes we need.

Alongside that, the next government must also ensure the prevention measures in the Housing Bill are properly implemented – because the best way to tackle homelessness is by preventing it happening as early as possible.

Read the Cabinet Secretary’s full statement

Annual homelessness conference 2025 programme

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Housing scarcity is Scotland’s defining issue, driving homelessness and undermining health, education, equality and community safety. Fixing it unlocks progress on every front. Scotland’s Annual Homelessness Conference 2025, It’s Personal: The human face of the housing emergency, will explore the real-world impact of and solutions to the emergency.

A fantastic line-up of experts, advocates and people with personal experience of homelessness will come together for the 2-day event – packed with must-hear keynotes, engaging and insightful roundtable discussions, deep dive breakout sessions and more.

You’ll find a link to the full programme below, but here’s a taste of what you can expect.

Keynote speakers

Eireann McAuley: From childhood adversity to inspirational activism, Eireann is fiercely dedicated to tackling inequality, injustice and poverty. As well as being a teacher, Eireann is one of Scotland’s youngest trade union officials and has been named as one of the country’s most inspiring young women on the Young Women’s Movement ‘30 Under 30’ list.

Baroness Floella Benjamin: A pioneering star of stage and screen, former host of BBC TV’s Play School, award-winning writer, campaigner and prominent Windrush voice, Baroness Benjamin has overcome adversity and prejudice since she arrived in Britain aged 10 to achieve stellar success in her career and champion diversity and childhood wellbeing.

Cabinet Secretary for Housing Màiri McAllan makes her conference debut in her new role. The Cabinet Secretary will deliver a keynote and join Breakthrough on Homelessness in Scotland – a dynamic panel session which will also offer the international perspective, academic knowledge, lived experience insight and expertise on housing delivery at scale.

Juha Kahila, Head Of International Affairs at Y-Säätiö in Finland, will share inspiration from the Nordic Homelessness Alliance, which brings together key organisations from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden with the aim of eradicating homelessness in the Nordic Region.

Hustings on the housing emergency

What will the next Scottish Government do to tackle the housing emergency? With the Holyrood election coming in May 2026, representatives from political parties will be invited to share their plans in a hustings chaired by Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson.

A celebration of our frontline workforce

Winners of the Heart of Support Awards for frontline excellence will be announced and honoured among an appreciative audience of peers, colleagues and people who have benefited from support – with short films to showcase each of the six selected nominees.

We hope you can join us at Perth Concert Hall in October – there’s a lot going on over the 2 days, as you’ll see in the full programme. Find a link below along with booking options.

Conference Programme

Celebrate the Heart of Support: nominate an outstanding frontline worker

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All over Scotland, people working in frontline homelessness services go all out to make the difference for people they support. We often hear about them, and you will have too. 

An Associate of HNS described their experience of a trusted worker as having “that one person who sticks around and sticks up for you.” 

At Scotland’s annual homelessness conference, the Heart of Support Awards will honour and highlight great work being done by people who support people during the housing emergency. 

Why nominate?

Across the 2-day event in Perth on 27-28 October 2025, we will platform a diverse range of colleagues who go above and beyond every day for people they support – to represent and celebrate this key workforce in roles including caseworkers, advisors, support workers, housing officers, social workers, coaches, counsellors and more. 

The 6 nominees who are selected will receive an award engraved with their name, a £200 cash payment and VIP entry to the conference including meals and accommodation. 

And they will have the chance to tell delegates about their work – the successes, the challenges, why they do what they do. This will be captured in a short video showreel, coproduced with the winners to be presented at the conference.  

How we will select 

This year’s conference is titled It’s Personal: the human face of the housing emergency. Across 2 days the event themes are Safe, Well, Respected and In Control, exploring the real-world impact of the emergency on people and the solutions for a better future. 

The conference themes will guide the panel to select nominees that represent all parts of the country, across all sectors and in different types of frontline roles. We are keen to hear about those who champion new or impactful approaches that get alongside people to ensure they are: 


🧡 Safe: prioritising people’s immediate safety  

🧡 Well: supporting people’s health and wellbeing 

🧡 Respected: advocating for rights and redressing inequality  

🧡 In Control: helping to increase people’s agency and financial inclusion 
 

Here’s how to nominate 

Tell us in around 150 words how your nominee’s way of working makes the difference. It could be about their persistence, methods, the relationships they build, challenging how things are done, innovating – please know, it doesn’t have to be perfect. 

Please do make sure your colleague agrees to being nominated, can meet with us ahead to create a video – and is available to be celebrated at the conference in Perth. 

Deadline for nominations! For your important entry to be considered, please be sure to send it to us by Friday 19 Sept 2025. Just click the button for the short nomination form.

Nomination form

August Network Briefing

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This month’s Network Briefing includes new research on subjects including refuge accommodation and ethnicity and homelessness. You’ll also find events and launches from Shelter Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland, plus news, training opportunities and more.

Click below to access the new briefing and subscribe to get it delivered straight to your inbox every month.

August briefing