Why Scottish Budget's £4m for homelessness prevention will be money well spent

Half of those who died whilst homeless in Scotland last year were under the age of 45. Only 19 were over 65.

The human reality of homelessness can be fatal. Since the Scottish Parliament formally declared a national housing emergency in May, the number of people making homeless applications and housed in temporary accommodation – including hotels and B&Bs – has continued to climb.

This includes more than 10,000 children whose schooling and childhoods are disrupted as their families are moved in and out of communities and school catchment areas. Homelessness has devastating consequences for the health, mental health and finances of those who experience it.

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Statistics released last week revealed that half of those who died whilst homeless in Scotland last year were under the age of 45. Only 19 were over 65. Few other demographics experience such a devastatingly low life expectancy. It is hard to quantify the human cost of homelessness but it is very real and can bring lifetime consequences.

We should tackle homelessness in the here and now by trying to stop it happening in the first place (Picture, posed by an actress, by Phil Wilkinson)We should tackle homelessness in the here and now by trying to stop it happening in the first place (Picture, posed by an actress, by Phil Wilkinson)
We should tackle homelessness in the here and now by trying to stop it happening in the first place (Picture, posed by an actress, by Phil Wilkinson) | Pic Phil Wilkinson / Cyrenains

Sigh of relief

The cost to the public purse is easier to show. Edinburgh City Council paid out an estimated £48.5 million on temporary accommodation for homeless households in 2023/24 while the costs to Glasgow City Council reached £73.5m. The spiralling cost of housing more and more people in temporary accommodation is placing crippling pressure on local authority budgets.

The Scottish Budget confirmed the council tax freeze will be lifted in April, but any increase in revenue from council tax rises will be quickly absorbed by increasing costs unless there is significant, sustained investment in new social housing and homelessness prevention to bring down the costs of crisis interventions long term.

Charities and developers alike let out a grateful sigh of relief when the Scottish Government confirmed a reversal of previous cuts to funding for affordable housing. With increased financial resources in place, the work starts now to get that money to where it can have the greatest impact in the places facing the most acute pressures. Local authorities must waste no time allocating grants where the previous lack of funding was a barrier to development.

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Relationship breakdown

But we cannot build our way out of this crisis. Even if planning processes and development timescales speed up considerably, it will take years to deliver the social homes we need. Fundamental to tackling homelessness in the here and now is to stop it from happening in the first place.

We welcome the allocation of £4m in additional funding for homelessness prevention. There are many examples of the public sector working with charities to identify people at risk of losing their homes and putting support in place to avert these crises. Where we have evidence that these initiatives work, this funding should be used to scale up delivery at speed.

Relationship breakdown is the most common reason for presenting as homeless; Cyrenians delivers mediation and support to families in conflict, Too many people leave hospital into homelessness; our hospital inreach team prevents that happening.

We are not the right organisation to deliver these services in every city but there will be others who are well placed to do so and the evidence of their impact is well documented. Homelessness is often predictable and that means it is preventable. As the old saying goes, prevention is better (and cheaper!) than cure.

Ewan Aitken is chief executive of the charity Cyrenians, which tackles the causes and consequences of homelessness.

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