Scotland is in a housing emergency, and it’s getting worse.
The most recent homelessness statistics present that nearly 14,500 households and over 9,100 kids are trapped in non permanent lodging in Scotland. Each of those numbers are a file excessive and a nationwide scandal. Households with kids are being trapped in non permanent lodging for longer and longer durations of time. Some households who’re homeless, can spend two years dwelling in non permanent lodging.
The lives and futures of hundreds of youngsters are being broken by the actual fact they’re being denied their proper to a secure, safe and inexpensive dwelling.
Our damaged and biased housing system is working beneath ever rising stress. The pandemic, Brexit, the cost-of-living disaster and the struggle in Ukraine all imply that there’s rising demand for everlasting social properties which aren’t accessible, and homelessness providers are struggling to manage.
A latest report from the Scottish Housing Regulator confirmed how near collapse the homelessness system is. It said that councils are discovering it more and more tough to totally meet their statutory duties and for some there’s a threat of systemic failure. The report confirmed that the challenges councils are going through are structural in nature:
‘Councils face three main strategic challenges in offering homelessness providers:
- coping with the numerous numbers of individuals at present in non permanent lodging
- sustaining a adequate provide of applicable non permanent lodging
- making certain entry to the variety of everlasting properties which are wanted.’
The structural options to the housing emergency
Shelter Scotland has been calling for the structural options to the housing emergency to be urgently applied. Our Scottish Housing Emergency Motion Plan known as on the Scottish Authorities to:
- Purchase and construct 38,500 social properties by 2026.
- Totally fund native authority homelessness providers.
- Assure the proper to a house for everybody experiencing homelessness.
The not too long ago printed report from the Scottish Authorities’s Non permanent Lodging Process and End Group requires comparable structural adjustments to be made so as to cut back the numbers of households in non permanent lodging, and the size of time that they keep there.
The group’s membership included Native Authorities, public well being our bodies and third sector organisations. It additionally heard from organisations such because the Scottish Housing Regulator and folks with lived expertise of homelessness. All of this data and proof led to the group making fifteen suggestions throughout three precedence areas:
- Ship extra social properties, together with a nationwide acquisition programme.
- Use the properties we’ve extra successfully to extend the choices for individuals to maneuver out of non permanent lodging right into a everlasting dwelling.
- Totally useful resource homelessness providers to supply the assist individuals want to maneuver on.
The proof is evident: Structural options are wanted to finish the housing emergency, and we can’t afford to attend any longer.
The Scottish Authorities should totally prioritise and implement these structural options. We all know this implies making robust decisions about the place to spend the restricted funding that’s accessible – however these decisions must be made. The social properties that folks want should be delivered, and the providers that they require to search out and hold a house supplied and totally funded. Till this occurs, we are going to see the numbers in non permanent lodging proceed to rise, and we are going to by no means obtain the broader social justice ambitions of eradicating baby poverty and bettering well being and training outcomes.
