The number of people dying while homeless in Dumfries and Galloway has reached its lowest number on record.
New figures from National Records of Scotland estimate that one person with no home died in Dumfries and Galloway last year – down from seven in 2022.
It’s the lowest figure since NRS began compiling the data in 2017 – the previous high being two in 2020 – and gives the region a death rate of 10.8 per one million people.
Across Scotland, it is estimated 242 people died while homeless last year, a slight drop from the 2022 figure of 244.
Shelter Scotland director, Alison Watson, said: “People should not be dying with nowhere safe and permanent to call home, but that is the grim reality of Scotland’s housing emergency.
“Earlier this year the Scottish Government declared a housing emergency but we’ve yet to see the kind of urgent, radical, response we need to end it.
“If ministers are serious about tackling Scotland’s housing emergency then they need to use the forthcoming budget to address the chronic shortage of social homes, and make sure failing local homelessness services have the resources they need to do their job.”
Earlier this year, Dumfries and Galloway Council declared a housing emergency. Last year, there were nearly 700 cases where homeless people were sent to B&Bs, with the council committing 318 breaches of government rules on accommodation standards.
As of March 31 this year, there were 243 cases of households living in temporary accommodation – an increase from the figure of 181 recorded in each of 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21.
The NRS figures show that across Scotland, it was believed drug misuse accounted for 41 per cent of all estimated homeless deaths, with the number of deaths rising from 89 to 100.
Assistant director of homelessness at The Salvation Army in Scotland, Helen Murdoch, said: “The number of people dying in Scotland while homeless is grimly predictable and the increase in drug-related deaths is worrying.
“I am concerned that we simply do not have sufficient detail needed to identify trends or matters calling for a quick response.
“There is no specific question on a death certificate asking if a person was homeless and the figures released today include some skilful and carefully assembled guesswork.
“Councils are well placed to add depth and accuracy to these tragic statistics as all deaths must be registered with the local authority.
“That is why we are calling for all local authorities in Scotland to analyse the cause of death of people who die while in temporary accommodation arranged by the council or in a Housing First tenancy.”
Scotland’s Housing Minister, Paul McLennan, said: “Scotland already has the strongest rights in the UK for people experiencing homelessness, but we are committed to ensuring that no-one need become homeless in the first place.
“That is why we are investing in the £100 million multi-year ending homelessness together fund to prevent homelessness, end rough sleeping and reduce temporary accommodation use.
“This includes supporting local authorities to deliver Housing First, which has provided a settled home alongside personalised support to more than 1,800 people since 2019.