Calls for action have been made as it emerged that the number of people who have died while homeless remains 27% higher than before the pandemic.

New data shows that the estimated 244 who died in 2022 remains over 50 higher than the number of average fatalities in the three years before the pandemic.

According to the  National Records of Scotland the estimated number of deaths is just six lower than in the previous year.

Of the 244 deaths in 2022, 216 were identified from death registration records and an additional 28 deaths were estimated using a statistical model.

It comes as drug-misuse deaths of people experiencing homelessness fell in the past year from 127 to 89. But they still account for over a third of all estimated homeless deaths in Scotland.

Nearly three in four (73%) of the deaths in 2022 were men and almost half (120) of the deaths were people aged under 45.

The Herald: Matt Downie from homeless charity Crisis. Pic: SAM MELLISH

Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “These figures are a national disgrace, but they are not at all surprising. Anyone familiar with the nature of homelessness knows the damage it does to people’s health. It exposes them to physical danger, and it damages their mental health.

“But the truth is that, as more people are forced into the homelessness system, more people will die homeless. And with the system now straining beyond local authorities’ ability to cope, we are seeing more people forced to sleep on the street, more families trapped for long periods in accommodation that’s totally unsuitable, and more people being told there is simply nowhere for them to go.

“We urgently need the Scottish Government to press on with plans to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place. New duties to prevent homelessness, if properly resourced, could allow people to get help before they reach crisis point, to help them avoid being forced from their homes.”

The analysis found that City of Edinburgh, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Glasgow City and Stirling had the highest rates of homeless deaths per million population (aged 15-74) in 2022.

Scottish Conservatives' shadow cabinet secretary for social security, housing and equalities Miles Briggs said: “These figures are a damning verdict on the SNP government’s failure to get a grip on this problem. Every one of these deaths is a tragedy, and the numbers remain stubbornly high.

“It goes much wider than drug deaths, which have been a longstanding source of shame for this government. But it should be a wake-up call for SNP ministers to finally back the Scottish Conservatives’ Right to Recovery Bill.

“It is appalling that this many people should be dying on Scotland’s streets without the government taking urgent action.

“After a decade and a half in power, the SNP need to accept responsibility for the housing emergency created under their watch, and take immediate steps to stop this disgraceful toll of avoidable deaths.”

The figures show that 750 have died since the Covid pandemic hit the country in 2020.

The Scottish Tenants' Organisation said there should be a national emergency declaration over the deaths of the homeless.

"These hundreds of homeless deaths in Scotland over the past four years is a national scandal that should shame all in authority.  These homeless human beings are wrongly blamed for their predicament and therefore completely ignored by those in power.

"This continuing scandal can only be tackled once and for all by treating it as a National Emergency in Scotland providing the political leadership through committing tens of millions of pounds to genuinely provide quality wrap around services to homeless people with drug and alcohol addiction problems as well as mental health needs in quality temporary accommodation and in permanent tenancies."

It comes a matter of days after a coalition of 40 organisations demanded investment in social home building to avert Scotland’s homelessness crisis.

The huge wave of pressure united many big charities and building groups, which are furious at the way new-builds have fallen way behind target.

They have signed an open letter to Scotland’s finance secretary Shona Robison, demanding that cash is found in her budget on December 19 to rapidly build more social homes.

The Herald: Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has called for transparency (Jane Barlow/PA)

Sean Clerkin, campaign co-ordinator of the STO said: "There has to be a mass social rented house building programme allied to thousands of empty homes being brought back into circulation through being retrofitted and local authority estates and empty offices being converted into permanent homes.

"If we do not act on this housing and homelessness emergency now the needless tragedy of homeless deaths will continue."

Latest official statistics show a record 9,595 children trapped in homelessness accommodation, while the overall number of people in the homelessness system is at its highest since records began.

Overall there are now 29,692 households in the homelessness system, the highest level since records began.

Edinburgh City Council and Argyll and Bute Council have already declared a ‘housing emergency’.

The number of households in temporary accommodation is at an all-time high, with 15,030 households in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2023.

The average number of days spent in temporary accommodation has increased to 223 days - 40 days longer than the average in 2018-19.