Tag: scotland

New homelessness prevention duties need system thinking

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The Everyone Home collective and All in for Change have asked Scottish Government to target prevention funding toward small scale pilots that can enable close observation of pathways and processes that will need opened up to implement the new ‘Ask and Act’ homelessness prevention duties effectively.

This recommended course of action from the collective highlights that through action inquiry and a place-based approach, relevant bodies and local partners can enable learning on what it will take to implement the new duties and, importantly, to share that learning across

The collective and the Change Team set out a series of recommendations for defining the scope of the pilots and gathering learning in a new paper. Read it here.

Homelessness prevention pilots paper from the Everyone Home collective

It comes after the Scottish Government announced £4million of funding in 2025-26 to pilot and scale up prevention work. The collective welcomed the pilots and resources as an opportunity to ensure that the statutory prevention framework is robust for full implementation of the new duties.

Everyone Home also said this work will also ensure that local practice and national policy is aligned and strengthened around the foundations that need to be laid so the housing and homelessness system turned towards a prevention focus.

Everyone Home is a collective of 36 academic and third sector organisations focused on housing and homelessness in Scotland.

All in for Change is the national platform for people closest to the issue of homelessness in Scotland, through personal experience or working in direct advice and support roles. The Change Team acts as a feedback loop between people working in and experiencing homelessness now, and decision makers in local and national government and across housing, health and social care.

Now recruiting: join the Homeless Network Scotland Board

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In the face of a housing emergency and cost of living crisis, homelessness is rising fast in Scotland. At the same time, we have a landmark Housing Bill going through parliament which could, if delivered properly, change the face of homelessness by significantly widening prevention duties.  

Addressing the current homelessness crisis and ensuring we get the legislation and systems we need for the longer term requires people who can inspire, shape and influence positive change. 

The Board of Homeless Network Scotland, the national membership body for organisations and individuals committed to ending homelessness in Scotland, is at the forefront of this work.  

At this critical moment, the board is recruiting new members to extend its reach, broaden its lens and welcome new skills and diverse voices. 

By joining the board, you can make your knowledge and passion count in the collective push to create a better future for everyone in Scotland. And you will have the opportunity to add your voice to an authoritative group of dedicated board members with decades of experience and expertise. 

Convenor Jackie Erdman, formerly Head of Equality and Human Rights at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “Our trustees span different sectors and disciplines, bringing expertise and passion to the role. 

“We aim to provide a holistic oversight to the work, supporting the team in their engagement with Homeless Network Scotland members. We believe that homelessness can only be resolved through approaches that link up health, wellbeing and housing, informed by engagement with people who have experienced homelessness. We welcome new trustees who can help us develop that strategy. From my experience, I know you will find it stimulating and rewarding.” 

Current board member Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick, director of the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at Heriot-Watt University, said: “As well as contributing to efforts to end homelessness in Scotland and influencing the future direction of how systems and services respond to homelessness, you’ll be working with colleagues with diverse and deep expertise across housing, homelessness and related sectors.” 

Vice-convenor Peter Kelly, chief executive of the Poverty Alliance, said: “Being a Board member is an incredibly rewarding role. As a trustee you will undoubtedly learn as much as you contribute.” 

James Strang, chair of Riverside Scotland and former president of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “The latest set of annual homeless statistics reveal rising homelessness and rough sleeping – and show exactly why we need to push on with our work. We welcome nominations from people who can widen our scope and add to our existing skills and knowledge. This is an opportunity to make a real difference for people and communities all over Scotland.” 

About Homeless Network Scotland  

From its origins as a local charity formed in 1980, it is now the national membership body of people and organisations committed to ending homelessness in Scotland. It is an organisation that acts on evidence and is informed by people with direct experience of homelessness and by the breadth of its members’ insights and knowledge. 

Homeless Network Scotland provides direction, connects people, and works to inspire the values and vision that will transform Scotland into a place where everyone has a home. Read more about our work: www.homelessnetwork.scot 

The Role of the Board  

A Board member of Homeless Network Scotland is a non-executive company director and a charity trustee. The Board of Directors:   

  • Work in the interests of Homeless Network Scotland and further its influence and its strategic and charitable aims. 
  • Take part in reviewing the strategy of Homeless Network Scotland and accounting for its activities and impact.     
  • Ensure that Homeless Network Scotland functions within the legal and financial requirements of a charitable organisation and strives to achieve best practice.     

You are warmly encouraged to make a nomination for election to the Board of Directors of Homeless Network Scotland, which will be decided at the AGM on 29 October 2024 at Perth Concert Hall.  

Nomination information and form

October Network Briefing out now

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Among this month’s briefings are the latest report into the Fair Way Scotland partnership, which reveals the toll of destitution inflicted by UK immigration policy on people seeking to settle in Scotland – the hidden humanitarian crisis within the housing emergency. 

We also share news of the launch of No Wrong Door Scotland, a learning partnership working to join up services for people at the hard edges. 

Other must-read briefings cover reaction to homelessness statistics and the Housing Bill, child poverty, digital exclusion, plus a video and blog on the new rental sector in Romania – where people were asked what makes the ‘ideal’ landlord. 

Find the briefing below and subscribe here to stay in the loop each month on homelessness, housing and related areas.

Read the briefing

Homelessness data reveals a breach of trust

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The annual homelessness statistics released today by the Scottish Government make for sober reading. And reveal the breach of trust between government and the housing and homelessness sector in Scotland.

The figures reveal a 4% rise in homelessness applications – topping 40,000 households asking their council for help during 2023-24. An 8% rise in live cases nationwide to 31,870 and a 9% rise in people stuck in temporary accommodation – a record high – including more than 10,000 kids waiting for a permanent home. 506 more people experienced the sharpest edge of homelessness, being forced to sleep rough with no roof over their heads at all.

These are not just numbers – they are individuals, families and children being let down in a crisis and diverted to temporary flats, hotels and B&Bs, instead of homes, for months on end.

It is a deeply distressing situation for people affected, as well as for the services and sectors that support people, and the organisations committed to advocating for people and for change.

While the post-pandemic environment and cost-of-living crisis has played a hand, Scotland’s progressive housing policy has been undermined by its own hand and the fiscal policy of both UK and Scottish Governments.

The Scottish Government’s December budget made a hugely damaging £200m cut to the affordable housing supply programme, over and above the reach of the UK Government’s capital budget freeze. It is notable that the quarterly housing statistics also published today showed affordable home approvals were 44% lower than the peak figure in the year to June 2020.

Each and every decision jeopardising housing targets and exposing the progress made towards ending homelessness and rough sleeping in Scotland to new risk. And each and every decision betraying the trust of the sector, ignoring warnings, expert insights and evidence.

Scotland has a housing emergency – it’s time to act like it.

But how? Only with housing and fiscal policy aligned, and a supply of affordable housing in line with demand, will we see the scale of progress we need on the key pillars of Scotland’s progressive homelessness policy – prevention, reducing unsuitable, expensive and temporary accommodation, ensuring childhoods are spent in settled not temporary homes, scaling up Housing First for those at the hardest edge – and ensuring people seeking sanctuary or to settle in Scotland have a safe place to stay.

The statistics show thousands of people are being denied their legal right to housing because the system is operating way beyond capacity.  Our progressive housing and homelessness rights are designed to avoid this, but urgently need backed up with adequate investment in homelessness, support and building social homes.

And we need to think big – on matters of land and wealth tax and on the society we want to be.

In the near-term, local authorities need proper funding to discharge their statutory duty properly in the face of intense external pressures. And they need proper investment support to implement rapid rehousing plans. This approach is proven to work – a system that prioritises earlier prevention and ensures stays in temporary accommodation are as brief as possible.

Without these interventions – and without thinking big – these statistics will become entrenched as a predictable yearly roll call of how tens of thousands of people experiencing homelessness are failed year after year in Scotland.

June Network Briefing

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This month you’ll find a wide range of reports and research on subjects including rural poverty, wealth inequality, stigma and support for women experiencing homelessness, as well as learning opportunities and first details of Scotland’s annual homelessness conference.

Be sure to check out details of our upcoming Members’ Forum event on the state of Housing First, and watch a series of engaging short films explaining the new NICE guideline on working with people who are homeless – of interest to professionals in health and social care, and beyond.

Read the briefing