Author: Jamie Milne

A coalition of Scottish charities, frontline service providers and academics have called on the Scottish Government to ‘Build like Burnham’ by delivering at least 15,693 quality affordable homes a year to end Scotland’s housing emergency, as the new Prime Minister pledges to unleash what he calls “the biggest council house building programme since the post-war period” south of the border.

The coalition of 40 organisations across the housing and homelessness sector – convened by Homeless Network Scotland – has pointed to Andy Burnham’s promise that housing will be among his top priorities as Prime Minister and has cited research commissioned by Shelter Scotland on the number of homes needed.

The expert coalition urged the Scottish Government to commit to matching that ambition while ensuring any additional Barnett funding is diverted towards social housebuilding programmes.

The call comes as figures released last month showed that the Scottish Government is falling short on its housebuilding targets with 6,832 affordable homes built in the last year – 8% down on the previous year. Last year the number of new housing starts in Scotland slumped to the lowest level in over a decade with the figures leading to growing concern that Holyrood is on course to miss its target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

Scotland’s housing emergency continues to be disastrous for the almost 34,000 households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness- the equivalent of one household every 15 minutes.

The impact on the national finances is also ruinous, with figures showing councils were forced to spend over £100million in 2024-25 just to house people in unsuitable temporary accommodation such as hostels or B&Bs due to a shortage of housing.

Maggie Brünjes, chief executive of Homeless Network Scotland, said: “Scotland’s stalled social housing programme means there are nearly 250,000 people on housing waiting lists while councils continue to spend tens of millions of pounds just to keep people in the limbo of temporary accommodation including costly, poor quality hotels and B&Bs.

“We know what the answer to this is, so it was encouraging to hear the incoming Prime Minister single out housebuilding as one of his top priorities for England. It is time for Scotland to also now ‘Build like Burnham’ and deliver the 15,693 quality social homes every year of this new parliament that research shows is needed to meet the scale of the challenge

“If Andy Burnham’s investment in housing leads to more Barnett funding for Holyrood then the Scottish Government must also commit to putting every penny of that towards the existing social housing budget and move towards the £8.8billion that sector leaders are clear is needed to meet the level of homebuilding required.

“The housing emergency requires an emergency response but far too much public money continues to be spent on temporary accommodation and responding to crisis after it has already happened. Homelessness is not inevitable. We know what works and this is now a critical moment for Ministers in Holyrood to scale up on their ambitions and double down on delivery.”

Full list of coalition signatories 

1. Aberdeen Foyer
2. Aberdeen Cyrenians
3. All in for Change
4. Bethany Christian Trust
5. Blue Triangle
6. Centre for Homelessness and Inclusion Health, University of Edinburgh
7. Churches Action of the Homeless
8. Citizens Advice Scotland
9. Crossreach
10. Cyrenians
11. Fife Gingerbread
12. Frontline Fife
13. Glasgow City Mission
14. Glasgow Women’s Aid
15. Hillcrest Futures
16. Homeless Network Scotland
17. Housing Options
18. I-SPHERE
19. Joseph Rowntree Foundation
20. Legal Services Agency
21. LHM 360
22. The Marie Trust
23. Move On
24. Policy Scotland
25. Refugee Sanctuary Scotland
26. Right There
27. Rock Trust
28. Rowan Alba
29. Say Women
30. Shakti
31. The Salvation Army
32. Scottish Refugee Council
33. Simon Community Scotland
34. Social Bite
35. Street Connect
36. Street Soccer Scotland
37. The Talbot Association
38. Transform Community Development
39. Turning Point Scotland

Almost 1,000 people were supported and homelessness crisis was prevented for 662 households in the first pilot scheme to test out how to deliver the upcoming ‘Ask and Act’ prevention duties, a newly published evaluation of the programme shows.

The Upstream Homelessness Prevention Fund learning report shares findings from seven social landlord and third sector partnerships who took part in the scheme – and estimates that activity in the pilots saved costs approaching £10million.

Partners used the £1million Scottish Government initiative to test, innovate and expand on tenancy sustainment work to find out what works and uncover barriers to success.

They reported that building trusted relationships and providing flexible and relational support were crucial to keeping tenants in their homes.

Routine ‘Asking’ at multiple touchpoints was effective as were rapid cash payments to address immediate problems – preventing evictions, reducing legal costs, building engagement and enabling frontline staff to quickly avert crisis for people.

Partners shared ‘One thing we would change tomorrow’ – covering themes including long-term funding, data sharing and support for frontline staff.

The report details the work done by the seven projects, with recommendations for social landlords, third sector providers, Scottish Government, public bodies who will deliver Ask and Act, and network organisations who will support implementation.

They highlight the power of effective multi-agency partnership working, relational and trauma-informed support, routine early ‘asking’ and adopting cash-first approaches.

The pilot ran from 2025-2026 with the scheme administered by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) and Homeless Network Scotland (HNS).

The report was launched with an online event for members of SFHA and HNS attended by more than 100 people, who heard insights around data sharing, practical delivery, impact of cash first and future plans from projects who took part.

As part of a £50million package of homelessness prevention funding, the Scottish Government last week announced a £1million extension of the Upstream Fund, which will this time focus in on Glasgow.

This recognises the acute housing pressures in the city and also allows for exploration of learning on urban implementation, sustainability and cost-effectiveness of homelessness prevention measures.

New investment to help prevent homelessness across Scotland is a further commitment towards a preventative approach to tackling one of the country’s most pressing social challenges.
 
The Scottish Government’s rollout of a £50million fund will support implementation of new homelessness prevention measures designed to help people stay in their homes and reduce the number reaching crisis point.
 
As part of the investment £1million is being made available to continue a fund that helps social landlords and third sector partners to act early to prevent tenants becoming homelessness. A further £9million will go towards continuing to mitigate the impact of the freeze to Local Housing Allowance.
 
This marks a renewed commitment to shifting the focus from responding to homelessness towards prevention, as councils, housing providers and public services prepare to deliver new legal duties aimed at identifying housing problems earlier and ensuring people receive support before losing their homes.

Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth visited Sanctuary Housing Association’s offices and development in Toryglen, Glasgow to mark the rollout of the funding yesterday.

Homeless Network Scotland chief executive Margaret-Ann Brünjes said: “We know the human cost of homelessness is devastating, and we also know that early action is far more effective than responding once someone has reached crisis.

“Prevention works, but only when it is targeted to communities that need it most. This funding can help build the systems and partnerships needed to identify risks earlier and provide practical support before people lose their homes. We must now maintain momentum.

“This commitment from the Scottish Government provides an important foundation for implementing the new prevention duties successfully.

“The challenge now is making sure the funding reaches frontline services quickly and is backed by the collaboration needed across housing, health, social care and other public services to make prevention a reality rather than an aspiration. We look forward to working with the Scottish Government to secure clarity on how the full fund will operate and where it will be deployed.”

One in three worried about losing their home

Scotland’s continuing housing and homelessness emergency is fuelling growing concern among the public about housing insecurity and increasing pressure on local authorities to meet demand for homelessness services.

Recent polling commissioned for the Everyone Home Collective found that more than one in three Scots are worried they could lose their home within the next few years because of pressures including the cost of living, a shortage of affordable housing, rising rents and increasing mortgage costs. Concern was highest among younger adults, highlighting the growing scale of housing insecurity.

Around 250,000 people are currently on housing waiting lists across Scotland, while more than 18,000 households – including around 10,000 children – are living in temporary accommodation.

These figures demonstrate why prevention must sit alongside long-term investment in affordable housing if Scotland is to reverse current trends.

The new funding provides an opportunity to strengthen partnerships between councils, health services, landlords and the third sector, helping to identify housing risks earlier and intervene before people are forced into homelessness.

The continuing £1million Upstream Homelessness Prevention Fund announced as part of the £50million package follows a successful one-year nationwide pilot that saw more than 600 households supported to stay in their social housing tenancies.

A report on the fund to be launched on Thursday (16 July) details how landlords used innovative approaches to prevent homelessness earlier, including through discretionary cash payments and by asking tenants about their situation informally in places like parent and toddler groups.

A key ambition of the pilot administered by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Homeless Network Scotland was to show how social landlords will deliver the new ‘Ask and Act’ prevention duties to prevent homelessness earlier and in a wider range of settings.