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Number of homeless people in temporary accommodation in Scotland hits 22-year high
The number of homeless households living in temporary accommodation in Scotland has reached a 22-year high, figures have shown.
According to the latest official statistics, there were 16,634 households and 10,360 children living in temporary accommodation in Scotland on 30 September 2024.
These are the highest numbers since 2002 and year-on-year increases of 6% and 5% respectively, compared with 15,620 households and 9,855 children in September 2023.
From April to September 2024 1,785 households reported a household member experiencing rough sleeping in the three months prior to applying for homeless assistance and 1,198 the night before. These are increases of 25% and 32% respectively, compared with the same period in 2023.
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There was also a notable increase in instances of households not being offered temporary accommodation. There were 7,545 such instances in 2024, up 277% from 2,000 in 2023. The vast majority of these (6,320) were in Glasgow.
During the six-month period, there were 20,823 applications for homelessness assistance, an increase of 1% (295) compared with the same period in 2023. A total of 17,424 households were assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness, an increase of 4% (636) on the same period in 2023.
There were 32,272 open homelessness cases as of 30 September 2024. This is slightly lower than 32,377 at 30 June 2024, but 6% higher than 29,856 on 30 September 2023.
A total of 20,345 cases closed between April and September 2024, an increase of 5% compared with 19,428 in 2023.
Scottish housing minister Paul McLennan said the number of homeless people in Scotland and children in temporary accommodation is “far too high”.
He said the Scottish government had “a strong track record” in delivering more homes, adding that the draft Scottish Budget for next year includes “a £200m boost” to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.
Critics, however, have pointed out that this boost merely restores the housebuilding programme to 2023-24 levels after it was slashed by a quarter this year.
Mr McLennan continued: “We are also targeting funding in areas where housing capacity needs to be increased most. This includes £42m to the five local authorities with the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures to increase supply through buying back properties and bringing long-term empty homes back into use. This is expected to deliver 1,000 more homes.
“The draft Budget will also provide record funding of more than £15bn to councils in 2025-26 through the local government finance settlement. This funding supports the delivery of a range of services, including homelessness services, enabling local authorities to fulfil their statutory homelessness duties.
“An additional £4m will also be made available to support local authorities and frontline services to pilot and scale up homelessness prevention best practice across Scotland.”
