'Housing First' approach gets £21m investment to help homeless Scots

Up to £21 million of government cash is being invested in trying to ensure homeless Scots get a permanent place to stay more quickly. The Scottish Govenrment announced money for the housing first'' approach as an expert group - set up by ministers to look at how to tackle homelessness - made its final recommendations.

As part of that, the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group called for the benefits cap to be scrapped along with an end to the freeze on welfare payments to ensure people are no longer forced into destitution''.

The group stressed that homelessness does not exist in a vacuum in Scotland, or anywhere else''.

It recommended the benefit changes and said these would particularly help younger, single people who were particularly vulnerable'' to end up on the streets.

The funding from the Scottish Government is part of £50 million already pledged by ministers towards ending homelessness.

It comes after new figures in June showed the number of people applying for help with homelessness had increased for the first time in almost a decade.

Scotland's councils received 34,972 such applications in 2017-18 - a rise of 1% on the previous year.

The number of families housed in temporary accommodation also increased to 10,933, with figures revealing 6,615 children living in places including hostels, bedsits and B&Bs.

But a housing first'' approach could see people provided with permanent accommodation sooner, particularly for those with more complex needs.

Housing minister Kevin Stewart said: I would like to thank the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group for their hard work and dedication over the past nine months.

We know that homelessness is not solely a housing issue and we are committed to tackling the wider risk factors of homelessness and rough sleeping, including poverty and the increased risk of homelessness due to UK Government welfare cuts.''

He said the £21 million funding would ensure we support people at times of crisis, while also taking an important step towards transforming the system and offering rapid routes back to settled housing''.

Mr Stewart added: Our focus on prevention has contributed toward a 39% fall in homelessness applications in the last ten years. We want to build on these strengths and accelerate progress.''

The action group also stressed the importance of truly affordable housing'' in the work to tackle homelessness, arguing the social security payments need to besufficient so that people at risk of homelessness can afford somewhere to live''.

It recommended a long-term view'' on the provision of housing over the next 20 years, calling for cross party support for this.

Jon Sparkes, chair of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group and chief executive of national homelessness charity Crisis, welcomed the funding.

He said: Everybody in Scotland deserves the dignity and stability of a safe and stable place to live, so we are very pleased the Scottish Government has accepted our recommendations to tackle homelessness across the country.

Right now far too many people are either at risk of becoming homeless, or are already stuck in temporary accommodation or sleeping on the streets. When we know what it takes to end homelessness, this just isn't right.

We have called for public bodies - such as hospitals, prisons, and social care services - to play a role in preventing homelessness, and for the government, local authorities and social landlords to build the social housing we need to truly meet demand.

Now is the time for action, and we look forward to working closely with the Scottish government to make these plans a reality so that ultimately, homelessness in Scotland can be ended once and for all.''