Ending homelessness together: annual report to the Scottish Parliament, November 2024

Introduction

This annual report summarises the progress made during the last year towards ending homelessness in Scotland.

In the last year, we have seen increasing pressures on homelessness services. The Scottish Government declared a housing emergency in May 2024, following a series of similar declarations from councils. There is no agreed definition of the term housing emergency and reasons cited by councils for their declarations are varied. However, contributory factors include insufficient social and affordable housing supply to meet demand; increases in private rents; high mortgage interest rates; freezes to housing benefit; increases in the costs of everyday essentials; and cuts to Scotland’s block grant from the UK Government. The combined effects of these challenges are greater numbers of people presenting as homeless; record numbers of households in temporary accommodation; long waiting lists for social homes; and failures by some councils to meet their statutory duties to homeless households.

There is no quick solution to reversing current homelessness trends and to resolving the housing emergency, but we know that it must involve all levels of government. Research^[1] shows that the most important driver of homelessness in all its forms is poverty. Other drivers include the availability and affordability of housing, the extent to which prevention activity takes place and the characteristics of people experiencing homelessness.

Tackling poverty, preventing homelessness where possible and ensuring everyone has a home that meets their needs are at the heart of Scotland’s homelessness strategy. The introduction of the Housing (Scotland) Bill in March 2024 presents an opportunity for Scotland to be a world leader in homelessness prevention. It will make preventing homelessness a shared public responsibility and ensure intervention starts as early as possible.