Further increase in homeless children in temporary accommodation

Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, comments on today’s release of the bi-annual homelessness statistics from the Scottish Government.

“These figures are bad news for anyone facing homelessness in Scotland and if alarm bells weren’t already ringing in Holyrood they should be now.

“Homelessness in Scotland continues to increase – with even more children in homeless temporary accommodation than last year and people having to stay longer in temporary accommodation with their lives in limbo. And with hundreds of breaches of the unsuitable accommodation order and households being turned away from temporary accommodation they are entitled to thousands of times, it is clear there is a housing emergency in Scotland.”

Graeme Brown added:

“This is more evidence that the good progress on homelessness we have seen in recent years is being eroded and homelessness is blighting the lives of even more people in Scotland – robbing them of their health, security and a fair chance in life.

“We know homelessness can’t be solved overnight and we welcome the recent focus on homelessness from the Scottish Government. But it is now time for urgent action from all areas of local and national government to work together better to tackle and prevent homelessness in Scotland.

“The upcoming budget should be seen as an opportunity for the Scottish Government to ensure councils are properly resourced to deal with this unacceptable rise in homelessness in Scotland.”