Ending homelessness action plan: annual report

Progress against actions set out in the High Level Action Plan

The following table provides an at a glance update on the status of all the actions in the Ending Homelessness Together High Level Action Plan, grouped by the five overarching outcomes set out in the Action Plan.  

We are delivering strong progress against the actions committed, with 39 of 49 actions (including the commitment to publish this Annual Report) in progress or being delivered, as well as 9 additional actions being taken forward since the Action Plan was launched (in blue italics below).  

Spending to date

A year on from the publication of our Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan is also a good time to reflect on the investment we’ve made so far. Although the Action Plan is spread over five years, in our first year, we committed to how a significant amount would be invested to ensure we got solutions and programmes up and running.

Scotland was one of the first countries in the world to recognise the importance of making permanent accommodation the first response for people facing housing crisis. That’s why we are leading the way in our investment of £32.5 million to support settled accommodation for all. 

Local authorities and our third sector partners are best placed to provide the help needed on the ground. We invested an initial £2 million early on to help local authorities develop their transition plans. The delivery of homes for all includes £24 million for Rapid Rehousing and £6.5 million for the Housing First pathfinders work, both over three years.  

Using expert third sector partners to deliver actions in the Action Plan has been vital as we seek the change we want to see. Therefore we have also committed £4.5 million in supporting the transformational frontline services the third sector provides – maintaining our commitment to have a person-centred approach to delivering the Action Plan. 

Alongside this, the Scottish Government committed within the Programme for Government to introduce a Homelessness Prevention Fund. It will provide £1.5 million over the next three years to increase and spread the work of social landlords in supporting low income families in social housing to prevent crisis points and avoid homelessness.  

As you will see from other areas of this report, we are already seeing positive results thanks to our commitment. As the Action Plan progresses, spending should start to even out but this initial burst was vital to the programme.