Record number of children in temporary accommodation ‘very concerning’ – Swinney

New figures showing a record high number of homeless youngsters are having to live in temporary accommodation are “very concerning”, the First Minister said.

As well as the 17,424 households assessed as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness in the six-month period from April 1 to September 30, 2024, Scottish Government figures also revealed that as of September 30, there were 16,634 households living in temporary accommodation – which included 10,360 children.

Both totals are the highest since records began in 2002, with housing minister Paul McLennan accepting the figures are “far too high”.

Mr Swinney, who has made eradicating child poverty a key aim for his Government, told journalists: “The housing data this morning is very concerning to me.

“It is essential that we do all that we can to reduce the levels of temporary accommodation and to improve the housing conditions of people in Scotland, particularly children who are living in temporary accommodation.”

The figures showed an increase in the number of homeless households placed in either bed and breakfast accommodation or hostels.

The number of households in B&Bs increased by 41% over the year to stand at 2,680 in September, while there was a 34% rise in those placed in hostels – up from 633 in September 2023 to 846 a year later.

The Scottish Government report containing the data said: “The rise in the use of bed & breakfast accommodation is related to the increase in general demand for temporary accommodation.”

There was also a large rise in councils acting unlawfully by failing to offer temporary accommodation – with this happening on 7,545 occasions between April and September, a level which was described in the report as “considerably higher” than the 2,000 recorded in 2023.

The “vast majority” of these cases – 6,320 – occurred in Glasgow, where prior to July 2023 there had been none, with the local authority saying the change was “due to the increased demand on homelessness services”.

Overall, 20,823 applications for help with homelessness were received by councils between April and September last year, a rise of 1% on the same period in 2023.

Those applications resulted in 19,894 adults and 8,063 children being assessed as homeless.

While the number of adults classed as homeless was 4% higher than it was over the period April to September 2023, the number of children in this situation was down by 1%.

The rise in homelessness was branded “utterly disgraceful” by the Scottish Conservatives and a “national scandal” by Labour – who said it is “unthinkable” for Mr McLennan to stay on as housing minister.

It means nothing to declare a housing emergency if you don’t take any action to deal with it

Labour housing spokesman Mark Griffin said: “The SNP’s shameful negligence has left thousands of Scots with no home, hundreds sleeping rough, and more than 10,000 children without the safe, secure home they deserve.

“It means nothing to declare a housing emergency if you don’t take any action to deal with it.”

Tory housing spokeswoman Meghan Gallacher said: “The SNP continue to be asleep at the wheel while a national housing emergency continues to spiral out of control on their watch.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesman Paul McGarry said: “With levels of homelessness hitting yet another record high, it makes you wonder what on earth the SNP have been doing for the last 18 years.”

Maeve McGoldrick, the head of policy and communications in Scotland for the charity Crisis, said: “These figures show councils are working to help move people out of homelessness and into settled accommodation, but they can’t keep up with growing demand for their help.

“That has led to growing numbers of people sleeping on the street, more people placed in accommodation that is totally unsuitable for their needs, and more instances of councils failing to meet legal obligations to people forced into homelessness.”

Mr Swinney stressed the Scottish Government draft Budget for 2025-26 includes a “significant increase” in funding for housing.

The First Minister added: “We’re also doing work which the Government has not previously done, which will not be coming through in these figures yet, which is to allocate more resources into void accommodation, into getting housing stock which is currently vacant back into use.

“As a Government we have presided over the building of more affordable housing per head of population than any other part of the United Kingdom since we came to power.

“But it has not been enough and that is why we have increased the budget, it is why we have changed the focus of some of that investment to support the refurbishment and rejuvenation of void accommodation so that can be available to meet the needs of individuals.”

Mr McLennan said: “The key to tackling homelessness is delivering more homes and we have a strong track record in doing so, having supported the delivery of 135,000 affordable homes since 2007. That’s 47% more per head of population than England and 73% more than Wales.

“However, we can and will go further. The draft Scottish Budget for next year includes a £200 million boost to the affordable housing programme, taking our total investment for 2025-26 to £768 million. We are working with partners to maximise that investment.”