Shelter Scotland '2012 Commitment' Briefing

The ‘2012 commitment’ - to give every unintentionally homeless person the right to a permanent home - has attracted international acclaim. The legislation, introduced with all-party support by the Scottish Parliament nearly 10 years ago, has served as a catalyst for significant changes to the delivery of homelessness services. ‘Meeting’ the commitment is not a choice, but a legislative requirement.

The 2012 commitment ends the decades-old distinction between “priority” and “non-priority” homeless people, which had little to do with the urgency of their housing situation, yet led to very unequal levels of assistance. Local authorities have faced the challenge head on, with Shelter Scotland information and the latest Scottish Government statistics showing that 18 have already abolished the ‘priority need’ distinction altogether with the majority of remaining local authorities well on schedule to remove priority need before the end of the year.