Ending homelessness together: annual report 2023

This annual report sets out the progress made in the last 12 months by national government, local government and third sector partners towards ending homelessness in Scotland.


Footnotes

1 Systems_Perspective_Policy_and_Practice_Guide.pdf (housingfirsteurope.eu)

2 The Marion Gibbs Award for Equality in Housing is sponsored by Homeless Network Scotland, the Scottish Government, Queens Cross Housing Association, North Ayrshire Council and the Institute for Social Policy, Housing and Equalities Research at Heriot-Watt University.

3 A ‘no wrong door’ model means that people at risk of or experiencing homelessness can get help regardless of the service or agency they initially connect with. A ‘no wrong door’ approach means creating better joined up services that put people first.

4 The benefit cap affects over 2,700 families, including over 9,400 children. Each family loses over £2,500 each year on average.

5 The regulations expired the rent cap provisions relating to the social sector on 26 February 2023 and suspended the rent cap provisions relating to the student residential sector on 30 March 2023.

6 The human rights bill will incorporate the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which includes a right to adequate housing as an essential part of the overall right to an adequate standard of living, into Scots law, within the limits of devolved competence. The bill will create duties on those delivering public functions to realise these rights and strengthen access to justice for rights holders.

7 Flipping is the term used for switching temporary accommodation tenancies to permanent ones.

8 Five local authorities are not currently planning to develop Housing First programmes because of insufficient demand or because they have alternative support programmes in place.

9 Tenancy sustainment rates are calculated by dividing the number of individuals who were still housed in a Housing First tenancy 12 months after they entered (since 1 April 2021) by the total number of individuals who have been housed at least that length of time ago and multiplying by 100. Tenants who have died are not included in the analysis.

10 The Scottish Government’s latest homelessness data suggest that there is a decrease in the proportion of homeless households where the outcome is a private rented tenancy (5 per cent of outcomes for people assessed as unintentionally homeless in 2019-20 and 2020-21; 4 per cent in 2021-22; and 3 per cent in 2022-23). See chart and commentary from our 2022-23 publication.

11 In Glasgow, 95 per cent of guests moved on to a positive destination. In Edinburgh, outcomes were tracked for 55 per cent of guests, 99 per cent of whom moved on to a positive destination. Outcomes for the remaining 45 per cent of guests in Edinburgh are not known as most individuals had no recourse to public funds and were unable to use mainstream homelessness services.

12 Research reveals the hardships of those begging in Edinburgh – Shelter Scotland

13 Fair Way Scotland aims to design out homelessness and destitution for people with no recourse to public funds in Scotland. The Scottish Government will continue to support Fair Way Scotland as far as is possible within devolved competence.

14 The Scottish Government funds an immigration advisor working in COSLA; an advice service for EU citizens in Scotland provided by the Citizens’ Rights Project; and an immigration advice service provided by Settled. The Scottish Government has also extended funding for the Scottish Refugee Council to provide legal advice to people facing homelessness and destitution.

15 Of the 32,242 homeless households in 2022-23, 31,732 (98 per cent) were assessed as unintentionally homeless, with the remaining 510 assessed as intentionally homeless.

16 The power to refer applicants with a local connection to an authority in England and Wales remains.

17 The latest statistics only include data for the period to 31 March 2023.

Contact

Email: Homelessness_External_Mail@gov.scot

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