Rough sleeping at worst level on record, figures show

The number of people who reported having slept rough before making a homelessness application is at the highest level on record, new figures show.

Figures released on Tuesday show the total rose from 1,932 in 2023-24 to 2,465 in 2024-25 – a 28% increase.

There was also a 17% increase in the number of people who slept rough in the three months before seeking support, rising from 3,058 to 3,579.

The figures also show 17,240 households were in temporary accommodation on March 31, an increase of 910 from the previous year.

The number of children in temporary accommodation also increased by 1% to 10,180 during the same period, but a 2% decrease from the previous quarter.

But in total, the number of homelessness applications last year dropped slightly, falling from 41,054 to 40,688 – a 1% decrease.

As of March 31, there were 31,695 live homelessness applications, increasing by 1% from 31,513 on the same day last year.

In light of record homelessness figures, the Scottish Parliament declared a national housing emergency last year, promising action.

Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan said the figures show the “scale of the challenge we face” in tackling homelessness, adding that the Government must work to keep people in their homes in the first place.

But the minister – who was appointed in June – pointed the finger at the UK Government.

“We know that more affordable housing is key to tackling homelessness and, despite the challenges of Brexit, austerity and the cost of living, the Scottish Government has a strong track record in delivering this,” she said.

“My housing emergency action plan will go further and commits up to £4.9 billion over the next four years to deliver around 36,000 affordable homes as part of a major, affordable housebuilding programme. This will provide family homes for up to 24,000 children.”

She also pointed to the pressure being faced in homelessness services, specifically in Glasgow, due in part to “the UK Government’s mismanagement of the asylum system”.

Under the current arrangement, asylum seekers are required to vacate Home Office-rented accommodation when they are granted leave to remain and can be forced to look to local authorities for help with housing.

Ms McAllan called for “more financial assistance” for impacted councils and said she would raise the issue with the new Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander.

Maeve McGoldrick, the head of policy and communications at homelessness charity Crisis Scotland, said the figures laid bare a “homelessness system at breaking point”.

“It’s particularly worrying to see such a large rise in people being forced to sleep rough on the street – we know how dangerous that can be,” she added.

“People are entering the homelessness system and getting trapped there, while more and more local authorities are breaching their own legal duties.

“It’s now obvious that, when it comes to turning around rising levels of homelessness, short-term solutions just won’t cut it.

“We know how to tackle and ultimately end homelessness in Scotland. That means building significantly more social homes, so supply meets growing demand.

“And it means reforming our public services to support people much earlier on, helping households to keep their home.”

Gordon MacRae, the assistant director of communications and advocacy at Shelter Scotland, said the figures are the “devastating reality of Scotland’s persistent housing emergency”.

“We are still seeing the consequences of the failure to deal with the backlog of homelessness and despite the publication of the Cabinet Secretary’s housing emergency action plan, there is nothing in it that will bring homelessness to an end,” he said.

He added: “All of Scotland’s politicians know what is needed: deliver a minimum of 15,693 social homes every year so that the local services that can prevent and end homelessness have the tools to do their job.

“If they choose not to do that, we should expect that the next set of homelessness statistics will be worse yet again.”

A Scottish Labour housing spokesman said a lack of housing was “at the root of this crisis”.

“It is shameful that thousands of people across Scotland, including more than 15,000 children, do not have a place to call home,” he said.

“The number of households stuck in temporary accommodation has increased by 6%, with an increase of 1% in the number of children in temporary accommodation over the last year.

“This means that more than 10,000 children are stuck living in temporary accommodation and face lengthy waits for their applications for settled accommodation to be processed.”

Aoife Deery, the housing spokeswoman at Citizens Advice Scotland, said the figures demonstrated the “deepening nature of the national housing emergency”.

She said: “Demand for housing advice from our advisers in bureaux across Scotland is also growing, which highlights the value of advice as people face unimaginable uncertainty about their homes.

“Last year, the Scottish CAB network gave housing advice more than 62,000 times, an increase of 7% on the year before, with a particular surge in demand for advice on homelessness.

“We need the Scottish Government to immediately implement its housing emergency action plan, published earlier this month.”

Scottish Tory housing spokeswoman Meghan Gallacher described the figures as “appalling” and urged the Housing Secretary to drop plans for rent controls.

“Mairi McAllan has no credible plan to fix this emergency,” Ms Gallacher said.

“She must ditch her reckless plans for permanent rent controls which will only exacerbate this situation.

“SNP ministers must also stop burying their heads in the sand about the impact of policies in relation to housing asylum seekers are having, which even their leader in Glasgow has said is financially unsustainable.

“Scots deserve better than a government that continues to be asleep at the wheel when it comes to tackling our housing emergency.”