What does the Programme for Government mean for ending homelessness?

Maeve McGoldrick, Head of Policy and Communications Scotland

06.09.2024

The Programme for Government and what it means for preventing homelessness

Published this week, the Programme for Government is centred around the need to tackle child poverty. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister said: “No child should have their opportunities, development, health and wellbeing and future curtailed by the material wealth of their family—not ever, and certainly not today, in a modern and prosperous society such as Scotland.”

At Crisis, we strongly welcome the FM’s commitment to ending child poverty. But this will only be achieved if focused support is in place that helps people keep their homes, and avoids the trauma of families having to become homeless.

What is the link between homelessness and child poverty?
Homelessness is the most acute form of poverty – yet, presently, there are over 16,000 children living in homelessness in Scotland.

That figure is the highest on record, with households including children spending longer than the national average in temporary accommodation.

In our frontline services, we support families with children who are moved between accommodation to accommodation every few days. In some cases, they can’t have friends or family to visit, or in others they may not have access to cooking or laundry facilities.

Crucially, we also know that child poverty is the biggest indicator of homelessness later in life.

What does the Programme for Government say on tackling homelessness?

The First Minister this week outlined a range of measures aimed at reducing levels of homelessness.

It includes plans to:

• Invest nearly £600 million in affordable housing in 2024-25, most will be social housing.
• Provide £40 million to bring existing homes into affordable use.
• Commit £100 million to grow with institutional investment to help with building around 2,800 mid-market rent homes.
• Give £2 million to local authorities facing the biggest temporary accommodation pressures to bring existing housing stock back into use.

And finally, the Programme for Government also includes plans to help stop more people being forced into homelessness, by introducing new duties on councils and other partners to prevent homelessness.

These plans to prevent homelessness are included in the Housing Bill

We strongly support planned new legal changes aimed at preventing homelessness. By allowing people to get help earlier, at least six months before they are at risk of homelessness, and ensuring public services play a greater role in preventing homelessness, we can help people keep their homes and avoid the trauma and indignity homelessness.

These changes are contained in the Housing Bill. Making sure the Bill gets passed is of utmost importance and we will keep campaigning to make sure that it becomes law in this parliament.

We will also work with government to prepare for its introduction – making sure there is a plan in place for public services to work well together, giving people the support they need as early as possible. This is just as important for preventing homelessness as it is for eradicating child poverty. Ensuring people have a safe and secure home is central to both missions and must also be central to the government's vision for achieving these aims.

To achieve this, we need your continued help – will you add your name to our call to prevent homelessness?