Scottish government confirms £4m for homelessness prevention pilots

News08.05.254.30 PM by Ellie Brown

The Scottish government has pledged to invest £4m in homelessness prevention pilots this year.

Holyrood (picture: Ermell/ Wikimedia Commons)

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Scottish government confirms £4m for homelessness prevention pilots #UKhousing

The Scottish government has pledged to invest £4m in homelessness prevention pilots this year #UKhousing

In its Programme for Government for 2025-26, it said the funding will help duty bearers, such as councils and housing associations, to prepare for their new homelessness duties.

The Scottish government published its new Housing Bill last year. It placed a new ‘ask and act’ duty on social landlords, health boards and the police to ask about a person’s housing situation and act to prevent them becoming homeless wherever possible.

Charities, including Crisis, campaigned for pilots to test out the rules in practice and these were brought in under amendments to the bill this spring.

“As a result, we are taking forward an ambitious series of initiatives which will give tenants more rights and stronger protections, directly support the delivery of more than 8,000 affordable homes, including for social and mid-market rent, and remove barriers on stalled building sites with the potential to deliver up to 20,000 new homes,” he said.

The government has also pledged to more than double the budget – from £8.25m to almost £21m – to deliver around 8,500 general housing adaptations to disabled tenants.

But housing groups in Scotland had a mixed response to the plans.

Alison Watson, director of Shelter Scotland, said the programme “lacked crucial detail” about how the administration plans to tackle the housing emergency.

She claimed there are no significant increases in plans for social homebuilding, extra budgets or investment in housing services to prevent more people becoming homeless.

“While we welcome the continuation of the plans which have already been announced, this is simply not enough,” she said.

Sally Thomas, chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said that while the moves are welcome, they do not “don’t go far enough” to tackle the country’s housing situation.

“A warm, secure, affordable home is the foundation of all our lives, and while this Programme for Government recognises that, there is an urgent need for quicker, bolder action if we are to end the national housing emergency,” she added.