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Scottish government boosts funding for homelessness plan
The Scottish government has put an extra £9m into its plan to deal with homelessness amid spiralling projected costs for the project.
Scotland’s ‘rapid rehousing’ plan, which will include a transition to Housing First, will now receive £24m over three years from Holyrood.
This approach would involve trying to provide homeless people with permanent housing as quickly as possible to minimise the time they spend in temporary accommodation.
The news comes just a month after Inside Housing revealed that civil servants estimate the cost of implementing the new strategy will be around £130m.
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This estimate was based on transition plans submitted to the government by local authorities, which set out how they would move to the new approach.
The Scottish government has not yet clarified whether it expects local authorities to cover the remaining costs.
The extra £9m has been taken from the Scottish government’s existing £50m anti-homelessness fund.
Housing minister Kevin Stewart said: “Temporary accommodation provides an important safety net in a crisis, but we know it is not the solution.
“The evidence shows what most people need is a settled place to stay where they can rebuild their lives. Where additional support is required, it will be most effective when people are living in a stable home, in mainstream housing.
“This additional funding will help reduce time spent in temporary accommodation and get people experiencing homelessness into appropriate and sustainable housing as quickly as possible.”
Anne Stirling, chair of the Communities Committee at Aberdeenshire Council, said: “We are pleased to see some additional funding coming forward to help us tackle homelessness.
“We are committed to ensuring the right mix of housing options across Aberdeenshire and to reducing poverty and inequality across our communities. Our shared accommodation model helps us to ensure there are temporary affordable housing options for those who need it most.”
