What does the Scottish budget mean for tackling the housing emergency?

Rhuaraidh Fleming, Senior Policy Officer

04.12.2024

“We think in generalities, but we live in detail” (Alfred North Whitehead, English Philosopher) 

The Scottish Government has confirmed in its annual budget that the housing budget has been uprated, with a cash injection to replace the funding that was previously withdrawn from the affordable homes fund under the previous First Minister’s leadership. This is the headline news regarding housing in the budget but it’s quite a broad-brush headline. What does this funding mean? How will it influence ending the housing emergency? What does it mean for homelessness?  

Crisis called on the Scottish Government to invest in prevention in this budget. We specifically asked for money to be allocated to run a series of “prevention pilots programmes” and to scale up best practice. Our hard work on this has resulted in £4 million being committed for this work. This is excellent news and can form the next step in building a more progressive system to end homelessness. The detail on how the Scottish Government will deliver this, however, will be all important.  

On the general announcements made we are pleased that the Scottish Government agree with the positions that we and several other organisations in the housing and homelessness sector have been espousing for a very long time. It is encouraging that their spending commitments appear to suggest that the Scottish Government no longer wants to simply manage the housing emergency, or tackle it, but that they want to end it. Not only that but they want to prevent it from happening again.  

As the budget proceeds through the Scottish Parliament, we will continue to make the case for investment in prevention as the best way to bring an end to homelessness in Scotland. We appreciate the Scottish Government appearing to take a holistic approach to ending homelessness by connecting it to their principal agenda of eradicating child poverty. However, we will repeat our asks for money to be allocated to scaling up best practice, alongside the allocation of funding for pilots to cover aspects of the Housing (Scotland) Bill to aid with their future, nationwide implementation. And we will repeat our asks for money to be allocated to establish a prevention delivery unit within the Scottish Government to oversee the development and delivery of objectives and outcomes central to implementing the homeless prevention duties as laid out in the Housing (Scotland) Bill. 

In general, the Scottish budget looks good. Some of the early detail potentially looks good. It’s said, however, that “The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail” (Charles R. Swindoll, American Clergyman). We’ll keep working – ourselves, with colleagues across the sector and with the Scottish Government – on that detail.