Scotland's housing emergency continues as record number of children stuck in temporary accommodation

The mum is concerned that her husband is abandoning their child
-Credit:Getty Images/iStockphoto


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 in 2023.

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.

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The data shows the number housed in B&Bs has increased by more than two-fifths, with 2,680 homeless households in B&Bs in September last year – a rise of 41 per cent. from 2023.

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.

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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 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.

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“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."

Paul McGarry, Scottish Lib Dem housing spokesman, said: "With levels of homelessness hitting yet another record high, it makes you wonder what on earth the SNP have been doing for the last 18 years.

"In Scotland, affordable housebuilding has collapsed and the cost-of-living crisis has made rents and mortgages unaffordable for so many. Last year, the SNP made that situation even worse by taking an axe to the housing budget.

"We need to stop ever-greater numbers of people from being plunged into homelessness. That’s why we will continue to press the government to build more homes, bring thousands of homes back into use and re-establish social rent as a valid, long-term option."

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Maeve McGoldrick, head of policy for Crisis in Scotland, said: “None of these figures will come as a surprise to anyone working in homelessness services. As the cost of living crisis continues to impact household incomes, more people being forced from their homes, often in circumstances where we know it could have been prevented from happening.

"That means more children forced to grow up without a safe, secure place to live and more being money spent on emergency responses, while the key causes of homelessness go unresolved.

"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.

"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."

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