Edinburgh child homelessness up 148% in five years new figures show

The number of children stuck in Edinburgh’s homelessness system has skyrocketed over the last five years according to shocking new statistics.

Figures obtained by Shelter Scotland via a freedom of information request show the number of children living in temporary accommodation in the capital is 148% higher than five years ago.

On 31st March 2024 there were 3,127 children living in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh, compared to 1,260 on 31st March 2019. [1]

Households with children also spend longer stuck in the homelessness system than those without, with single parent households spending on average 600 days in temporary accommodation. [2]

The overall number of households in temporary accommodation has increased by 40% in the last year. [3]

The figures also show that the City of Edinburgh Council is failing to meet some of its statutory responsibilities more regularly.

There were 1,519 cases where the council failed to offer temporary accommodation to a household in need in 2023/24, compared to 420 in 2022/23 – an alarming increase of 262%. [4]

Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said:

“It’s less than a year since Edinburgh declared a housing emergency and these figures are a stark reminder as to why that was necessary.

“The situation is clearly still getting worse, and the housing emergency continues to devastate lives in Edinburgh

“It should be a source of great national shame that there are more than 3,000 children in the city with nowhere to call home, that households with children spend the longest stuck in temporary accommodation, and that the cash starved local authority is breaking the law with alarming regularity.

“The First Minister says he wants to eradicate child poverty in Scotland but there’s no hope of achieving that aim while child homelessness is rife in the nation’s capital. We’ll see if there's more than just words behind the First Ministers ambition when the budget is published later this year.

“If the Scottish Government is serious about tackling the housing emergency, then it needs to set a meaningful target for delivering social homes by the end of this parliament, reverse the brutal cuts to the housing budget, and make sure local homelessness services have the resources they need to do their jobs.”