Homelessness falls

26th March 2013

There has been a significant fall in the number of people presented as homeless in Scotland, official statistics confirmed today.

There were 8,734 applications for homelessness assistance in the quarter to December 2012 - a 12 per cent drop on the same period in 2011.

There was also a reduction in households in temporary accommodation (down 4 per cent), and households with children in temporary accommodation (down 8 per cent).

These are the final set of quarterly statistics on homelessness prior to the introduction of the 2012 homelessness target.

Speaking prior to a visit to the Council for Homeless Young People Project at Queens Cross Housing Association in Glasgow, Housing and Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess said:

“In December 2012 landmark legislation came into force in Scotland which has put us at the forefront in Europe in our approach to tackling homelessness.

“Meeting our 2012 commitment guarantees that those who lose their home through no fault of their own are guaranteed settled accommodation.

“All of our Councils did excellent work preparing for this new law, and these latest falls in homelessness applications provide proof that measures to tackle and prevent homelessness are making a real difference.

“The Scottish Government’s Housing Options Approach funding programme, backed by investment of approximately £650,000, has helped local authorities embrace prevention. And over the next two years we have committed a further £300,000 to ensure this work continues.

“It is a key priority for this Government to ensure vital prevention activity continues to result in many more people avoiding the misery of homelessness. With homelessness continuing to head in the right direction, we continue to make huge steps forward for Scotland.”

Link to homelessness statistics page:
http://scotland.gov.uk/homelessstats