Ending homelessness together: annual report 2023

List of actions 2023

Embed a person-centred approach

1. Develop the evidence base on homelessness and review the homelessness data collection

2. Apply a gendered analysis to our actions and conduct equality impact assessments, ensuring the homelessness system meets the needs of diverse groups of women, including the needs of mothers and children

3. Ensure homelessness services are grounded in ‘no wrong door’ and person-centred principles and make homelessness assessments more flexible

4. Support people to access digital equipment, data and training

5. Raise public awareness of homelessness and challenge stigma

Prevent homelessness from happening in the first place

6. NEW Consider and respond to the recommendations of the task and finish group on homelessness prevention

7. Increase focus on tenancy sustainment and establish mechanisms to avoid evictions into homelessness

8. Push the UK Government to reverse its welfare reforms that put people at risk of homelessness

9. Consider more streamlined application processes for discretionary housing payments and use information sharing powers to target people who are most in need of discretionary housing payments

10. Improve affordability in the private rented sector

11. Support the First-Tier Tribunal to improve transparency around outcomes for tenants through better use of data

12. Implement and review prevention pathways for groups at particular risk, including for women experiencing domestic abuse

Prioritise settled homes for all

13. Take forward work on the right to adequate housing

14. Complete the delivery of 110,000 affordable homes

15. Encourage the housing sector to bring more empty homes back into use and support local authorities to develop their empty homes services and private rented sector access schemes

16. NEW Reduce the use of temporary accommodation by 2026

17. Roll out Housing First in Scotland

18. Develop best practice examples of choice in settled housing and assess impacts of providing wide range of housing options in local areas

Respond quickly and effectively whenever homelessness happens

19. Support local authorities and health and social care partners with their efforts to provide support and accommodation for all those currently in bed and breakfast accommodation

20. Support local winter planning, including efforts by partners to end the use of night shelter and dormitory-style provision

21. Support people engaged in street begging

22. Prevent homelessness for those with no recourse to public funds

23. Learn from recent initiatives and set out a broader range of accommodation options in crisis situations

24. Revise legislative arrangements for intentionality and amend intentionality definition to focus more closely on ‘deliberate manipulation’

25. Consider options to legally enforce the temporary accommodation standards

Join up planning and resources to tackle homelessness

26. Ensure National Performance Framework review includes explicit consideration of homelessness

27. Improve how we use Public Health Scotland data and intelligence capabilities

28. Further improve drug and alcohol treatment and harm reduction services

29. Improve join up between health, social care, housing and homelessness planning

30. Embed homelessness as a public health priority and ensure local authorities, housing providers and public bodies join up to prevent homelessness

31. Ensure the Hard Edges Scotland report continues to inform the response to severe and multiple disadvantage

32. Update code of guidance on homelessness and review need for a code of practice in code of guidance on homelessness

33. Join up housing, employment and employability support