Scotland’s housing emergency shows no signs of easing as the number of children stuck in temporary accommodation has reached a record high.
Official figures published today found 10,360 youngsters were living with their families in unsuitable short-term lets like B&Bs as of September 30 last year – an increase of five per cent on the same period the year before.
Temporary accommodation is supposed to be used by councils as a last resort when a family declares themselves homeless. But a chronic lack of affordable housing – and the massively inflated cost of private rentals – has created a crisis point in many areas.
There were a total of 17,424 households assessed as homeless, or threatened with homelessness, between April and September 2024 – a rise of four per cent.
The grim figures will pile more pressure on the SNP Government and its Housing Minister, Paul McLennan, to finally get a grip of the issue.
More than a dozen local authorities across Scotland have declared housing emergencies in the last 18 months due to a severe lack of affordable housing in their areas. The issue is particularly severe in and around the largest cities.
The latest figures show there were 20,823 applications for homelessness assistance, an increase of 295 on the year before.
In a statement, McLennan pointed to the number of the affordable homes built in Scotland since 2007, a figure the Scottish Government repeats every time the housing crisis in the country worsens.
“The number of homeless people in Scotland and children in temporary accommodation is far too high,” he said.
“However, we are determined to reverse that trend and we are taking decisive action to ensure no one need experience the trauma of being homeless.
The key to tackling homelessness is delivering more homes and we have a strong track record in doing so having supported the delivery of 135,000 affordable homes since 2007. That’s 47% more per head of population than England and 73% more than Wales.
“However, we can and will go further. The draft Scottish budget for next year includes a £200 million boost to the affordable housing programme, taking our total investment for 2025-26 to £768 million. We are working with partners to maximise that investment.
“We are also targeting funding in areas where housing capacity needs to be increased most. This includes £42 million 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 £15 billion 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 £4 million will also be made available to support local authorities and frontline services to pilot and scale up homelessness prevention best practice across Scotland.”