In March, I slept outside in Edinburgh for a charity event and it was a hard realisation of what so many homeless people have to go through every day – a cold, uncomfortable and daunting experience.
The event - Land Aid’s 2024 SleepOut - raised funds to tackle youth homelessness. For those sleeping rough, there can be a variety of complex issues that lead them to be in such a desperate position and they just need a bit of help. I applaud LandAid for the crucial work it’s doing as well as other charities and groups that shine a light on homelessness. Without them, it’d be a much bleaker picture.
I'd rather live in a world where LandAid doesn’t need to do this work. But right now, we’re further away from this than ever.
Scottish Government’s vision is for everyone to have a safe, warm and affordable home that meets their needs. However, there are 32,000 people in Scotland currently homeless with almost 10,000 children without a permanent home and the number of families in temporary accommodation is at its highest ever level and getting worse.
Read more: Visitors to homeless support centre in Glasgow double as housing emergency bites
Something must change dramatically and urgently, but how do we do this?
I’m pleased to see new policies introduced by Scottish Government in its Housing Bill launched on 26 March to address homelessness.
There will be a new ‘ask and act’ duty on social landlords, police and other services to ask about a person’s housing situation when they come into contact with them. Building this into legislation is a positive way of not missing the opportunity to help someone at serious risk.
As too is another element of the Bill which ensures social housing providers give reasonable preference to those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, giving the sector the legal backing to support those in greatest need.
It was also welcome to hear in April, Scottish Government’s announcement of £80million in funding over two years to buy empty properties for social housing.
However, these measures alone will not solve the issue and it was a major blow to the sector in February when a £196million cut in funding for affordable housing was agreed by Scottish Government.
The harsh reality is that in Scotland alone, there are 110,000 households on the waiting list for social housing. The list is continuing to grow, with more people priced out of private rented accommodation because demand is huge.
We simply must build homes now.
The Places for People Group owns or manages over 245,000 properties, homes to 500,000 customers across the UK, and is committed to doing all it can to ensure everyone has somewhere to call home. Within that, at Places for People Scotland, we’re a Scottish charity and own and manage over 9,000 homes across Scotland, predominantly social rent and some mid-market rent and shared-equity. This year in Scotland, we’re on track to build over 360 new affordable homes for rent and 115 for either outright sale or shared-equity and a further 2,500 new affordable homes over the next five years.
Our sister company, Thriving Investments, is delivering affordable keyworker homes across Edinburgh, Leith, Glasgow, Paisley, and Midlothian, with nearly 1,200 mid-market rent homes built or being built.
Our homes are more than bricks and mortar. As a social enterprise, all our profits are ploughed back into our organisation so we can make a positive difference to those who need it. Our social housing customers, like others across the country, face huge pressures to meet their living needs and deal with complex issues. So, we support customers where there are no longer services or funding available from other areas of the welfare system, like writing off rent arrears, food and fuel vouchers, access to foodbanks, money and fuel advice, domestic abuse, furniture, support with digital access, employment, training and wellbeing. To deliver these services, we’re stronger together and work with partners like Wise Group and Turning Point Scotland.
Read more: Permission granted for Rutherglen homeless village
In this spirit of partnership, we know – despite our best efforts - we cannot solve the housing crisis alone so we collaborate at every opportunity with housing organisations, private landlords, investors, and others. Such as Homewards, the Royal Foundation programme that aims to solve homelessness in the UK, which PfP is partnering with in Sheffield to make homes available for those in greatest need.
When it comes to building the homes Scotland needs, this type of collaboration is vital. So, I’m really pleased to have been invited by Scottish Government’s Minister for Housing, Paul McLennan, to join the Housing Investment Taskforce, joining others from the housing sector to drive the investments needed.
For this to be a success, however, a plan must be delivered that allows us to build, at scale and pace, the right mix of homes needed including not just social and private rent, but private sale homes and shared-equity too as well as more certainty for private landlords and investors. If we don’t get the balance right, it’s the people who suffer and we’re seeing that bluntly exposed by the appalling levels of homelessness in Scotland.
As I was collecting my thoughts on all of this, news of the new First Minister of Scotland being sworn-in broke. While political uncertainty has done nothing for those homeless, there's an opportunity for John Swinney to ensure under his leadership Scottish Government grasps the seriousness of the issue and addresses it head on. Just one week into office and under his leadership Scottish Government declared a national housing emergency in Scotland and when you consider all of the above issues, what took them so long?
It’s a start that the scale of the problem is finally being acknowledged, but words alone are not enough. My message to the new First Minister of Scotland is simple:
Somewhere to call home is everyone’s right – let’s make that more than a vision. It’s time to build.
Katie Smart is the director of Places for People Scotland.
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