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

Progress against actions to join up planning and resources to tackle homelessness

26. Ensure the 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 the 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

• The proposed changes to Scotland’s National Performance Framework – which include a new national outcome on housing – were laid before parliament on 1 May 2024. Parliamentary scrutiny of the changes is due to conclude in November 2024, and the Scottish Government will respond to the committees’ findings after that.
• Public Health Scotland has developed a dashboard linking homelessness application data to health and social care data. Work continues to make this data available to all areas to inform where best to target support for people experiencing multiple and complex needs within the health care system.
• We continue to improve drug and alcohol treatment and harm reduction services through the implementation of the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) Standards and the establishment of a safer drug consumption facility in Glasgow, which is due to open in November 2024.
• The latest statistics on homeless deaths were published in November 2023. They showed that while homeless drug misuse deaths fell, they still accounted for over a third of homeless deaths in 2022.
• Through our mental health budget we are supporting Cyrenians to extend its hospital in-reach service. The team connects with homeless people who have been admitted to hospital and ensures that access to suitable accommodation is prioritised as part of discharge planning. This assists recovery and reduces the risk of hospital readmission.
• Scotland’s proposed new homelessness prevention duties are designed to encourage better coordination between local authorities, housing providers and relevant public bodies to help people avoid the crisis of homelessness and the longer-term harms associated with it.
• The ministerial oversight group on homelessness, which brings together ministers from across the Scottish Government, has met four times and ensured an understanding that homelessness is more than a housing matter.
• The section of the code of guidance that deals with local connection has recently been updated. We remain committed to a fuller review of the code of guidance on homelessness once the homelessness prevention duties have been introduced. The need for a code of practice will also be considered at this time.
• No One Left Behind is Scotland’s strategy for making the employability system more responsive to the needs of people. Statistics are published on the number of people receiving No One Left Behind support and, since February 2024, this data includes people experiencing homelessness.
• The Scottish Government’s housing first monitoring reports record positive outcomes as a result of housing first tenancies, including training and employment.