THE number of children living in temporary accommodation has reached a record level as new figures showed a rise in homelessness in Scotland.
Authorities assessed 17,424 households as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness in the six-month period from April 1 to September 30, 2024 – an increase of 4% in the same period in 2023.
Scottish Government figures show that as of September 30, there were 16,634 households living in temporary accommodation – which included 10,360 children.
Both totals are the highest since records began in 2002, with housing minister Paul McLennan accepting the figures are “far too high”.
The data shows the number housed in bed and breakfast accommodation has increased by more than two-fifths, with 2680 homeless households in B&Bs in September last year – a rise of 41% from 2023.
There was also a 34% rise in those placed in hostels, up from 633 in September 2023 to 846 a year later.
The Scottish Government report said: “The rise in the use of bed & breakfast accommodation is related to the increase in general demand for temporary accommodation.”
Scotland’s largest city saw the biggest increase in those who had to be housed in temporary accommodation, with 516 households in the Glasgow council area in this situation, a rise of 16% from September 2023.
There was also a large rise in councils acting unlawfully by failing to offer temporary accommodation.
The data shows this happened on 7545 occasions between April and September, “considerably higher” than the 2000 recorded at the same time in 2023.
The “vast majority” of these cases – 6320 – occurred in Glasgow, where prior to July 2023 there had been none, with the local authority saying the change was “due to the increased demand on homelessness services”.
Overall, a total of 20,823 applications for help with homelessness were received by councils between April and September last year, a rise of 1% on the same period in 2023.
Those applications resulted in 19,894 adults and 8063 children being assessed as homeless.
While the number of adults classed as homeless was 4% higher than it was over the period April to September 2023, the number of children in this situation was down by 1%.
McLennan (above) said: “The number of homeless people in Scotland and children in temporary accommodation is far too high.
“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 £200mboost to the affordable housing programme, taking our total investment for 2025-26 to £768m. 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 £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 £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 £4m will also be made available to support local authorities and frontline services to pilot and scale up homelessness prevention best practice across Scotland.”
Maeve McGoldrick, the head of policy and communications in Scotland for the charity Crisis, said the figures will not be a surprise to those working in homelessness services.
“These figures show councils are working to help move people out of homelessness and into settled accommodation, but they can’t keep up with growing demand for their help,” she said.
“That has led to growing numbers of people sleeping on the street, more people placed in accommodation that is totally unsuitable for their needs, and more instances of councils failing to meet legal obligations to people forced into homelessness.
“We need a targeted response to stop more people from being forced into the trauma and indignity of homelessness.
“New budget commitments to invest in social and affordable housing will help do that, but we also urgently need to push forward with plans to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place.”
Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said: “This is the harrowing reality of decades of under-investment in social housing. No child should have to experience homelessness, yet the numbers keep rising to a record-breaking amount and are now staying in temporary accommodation for longer.
“These figures show the direct consequence of the Scottish Government and local authorities failing to prioritise housing and the desperate need for more social homes.
“Everyone deserves the right to be in a safe and secure permanent home where children can thrive.”
