Housing Emergency Action Plan – The NEN

Urgent action plan needed to tackle housing crisis, says Committee

A national action plan must be developed to tackle the housing emergency to avoid the risk the crisis “drifts on indefinitely”, according to a new report published by a Scottish Parliament Committee.

A year on from the official declaration of the national housing emergency by the Scottish Parliament, the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee say a Housing Emergency Action Plan with clear milestones and outcomes would ensure progress towards ending the crisis can be properly assessed.

It is one of ten recommendations for the Scottish Government made in the Committee’s Housing Inquiry Report.

Other recommendations include, that the Scottish Government should:

As a matter of urgency, complete and implement its review of the affordable housing target (due summer 2024), provide an update on what progress has been made, and what the revised timescales are for completion
Provide clarity on whether its additional funding for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme budget will ensure that it meets its target of providing 110,000 affordable homes by 2030
Explore further the opportunities presented by increasing social investment in housing and in developing the capacity of the non-profit sector to obtain private finance

The Committee launched its inquiry last year, hearing from professionals working in the housing industry, local authorities, academics, homeless charities, tenants and landlords.

Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee Convener, Ariane Burgess MSP, said: “It’s now a year since the Scottish Parliament officially declared a national housing emergency and homelessness remains dangerously high in some areas where there is now a systemic failure in the ability of local authorities to meet their statutory duties.

“During this Inquiry, we heard that the housing emergency was years, even decades, in the making and was therefore both predictable and preventable.

“We can’t afford to be complacent. The Scottish Government must work with the wider housing sector to take urgent collective action to address the emergency and ensure all its departments and policies are having a measurable, clear and positive impact.”

The Committee also took evidence from the Minister for Housing, Paul McLennan, including on the Scottish Government’s Housing 2040 strategy – and is calling for an implementation plan of that policy to be developed as a matter of urgency.

It also made a further recommendation that housing providers are given urgent clarity on the intended legal requirements for homes to meet net zero standards.

The Scottish Government is expected to respond to the report within two months.

housing-inquiry-report Download

Scotland’s housing emergency now impacting 2.3 million adults, Shelter Scotland warns

Over four in 10 adults in Scotland are now impacted by the housing emergency (42%), an increase of 800,000 in just four years (up six percentage points from 36% in 2021), our new research has revealed.

Marking one year since the Scottish Parliament officially declared a housing emergency, a new poll conducted by YouGov exposes the deepening scale of the emergency. It found that 2.3 million adults in Scotland (42 per cent) are struggling with the condition, security, suitability or affordability of their home, or have faced discrimination while trying to find one. *

This comes less than a year before the next Scottish Parliamentary election. Shelter Scotland warns that political leaders have so far failed to deliver meaningful solutions to address the worsening housing emergency.

As it launches its new strategy, Shelter Scotland is setting the goal of making next year’s Scottish election an election to end the housing emergency. The charity is calling on every voter in Scotland to join the fight for home and demand that politicians of all parties focus on building enough homes.

Shelter Scotland Director Alison Watson said: “It’s been a year since the Scottish Parliament declared a housing emergency. Since then, homelessness has gone up and social housebuilding has gone down.

“Last week the Scottish Government announced a Programme for Government with no plan to end the housing emergency. Instead, we had a Programme for Homelessness which says nothing about the 10,360 children are trapped in temporary accommodation which experts say exposes them to violence, vermin and isolation. This simply cannot continue into the next government.

“Everyone deserves a safe, secure home. But too many people in Scotland still live in fear — battling unaffordable rents, unsuitable housing, or outright discrimination.

“Today’s research reveals the harsh toll Scotland’s housing emergency has taken over the last four years – and it’s only getting worse.”

She added: “We want people to arm themselves with the knowledge of their housing rights. Scotland has some of the strongest housing legislation, but local authorities and the government need to comply to the law.

“This continued harm cannot be the norm. It’s time to say: enough is enough. The Scottish Government must urgently publish an updated housing emergency action plan. We need more social homes so the hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland no longer have to compromise their health, safety and education.”

Chelsea’s Story

Chelsea [33] has been in the homeless system since the start of 2023. After being placed in mould ridden temporary accommodation with her three children aged seven months, two, and eight years old, she had no choice but to leave it, fearing it was harming her children’s health.

She was placed in a hotel in the centre of Glasgow for a month where they had no cooking facilities and were cramped in one room.

Chelsea said: “It is a worry when I think about getting a forever home for my children. Whenever I speak to the housing officers, they keep telling me we’re in a housing emergency. People can’t carry on like this. Something has to give.”

Chelsea explained how her children were complaining of headaches and getting nose bleeds, which she worries was from the mould and damp conditions from the temporary accommodation.

“Me and my three children were placed into a hotel room in Glasgow’s city centre. It was horrendous! Three of us were living in just one room with no facilities.

“I had to wash baby bottles in the sink. There was nowhere to cook, no plates to eat food from, so every day we had to eat out. It is financially unstable. The council took our clothes to the laundrette but returned them still wet.

“The bed sheets were stained with blood. It was disgusting. We were in the middle of Glasgow and really felt unsafe.

“It’s had a horrific impact on my children, and I worry about the future impact on them. My son has significant neurodevelopmental issues; he has additional needs and he’s been out of school for three months. His school wouldn’t pay for a taxi from Glasgow city centre to his school. They wouldn’t facilitate him.

“The Government needs to do something. Something has to give. People are trapped and disabled children and women are suffering.”

Councillors agree next stage of addressing housing emergency

CITY councillors have approved an action plan as they work towards tackling the severe shortage of suitable housing in the capital.

Following the unanimous decision to declare a housing emergency on Thursday 2 November, the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee agreed a report on Tuesday (27 February) which sets out actions to respond to the crisis.

The actions are based on wide engagement with our partner organisations and Councillors, including 14 engagement workshops which helped identify key priorities.

The measures outlined in the Housing Emergency Action Plan are expected to reduce the number of households in Edinburgh without settled accommodation.

They include:

Reviewing the Allocation Policy for Council Homes to ensure it continues to enable fair access to housing, including consideration of protected characteristics, such as gender.
Improve the standard of repairs and repairs response for Council housing.
Ensure all relevant and appropriate partners are included and supported to resolve the housing emergency.
Improve the relationship between housing officer and tenant, ensuring local housing staff are visible in their localities and available to meet tenants where and when this is required.

It comes as the Council agreed to introduce a 7% rent rise for tenants over 10 years at the Full Council meeting on Thursday 22 February. In an effort to tackle the city’s housing crisis, the increase could raise around £2bn.

Around 80% of tenants in Edinburgh receive assistance with their rent in the form of housing benefits or Universal Credit. The council intends to extend its Tenant Hardship Fund to support households who aren’t entitled to this support to access funding if they struggle to afford an increase in rent.

Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Jane Meagher said: “It’s so important that we take drastic action to protect the most vulnerable people in our city before it’s too late. The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has led to a demand for temporary accommodation in Edinburgh which far outstrips supply.

“Having a safe, comfortable home is a basic human right so we’re determined to do everything within our means to put an end to this housing emergency.

“The measures outlined in the Action Plan, along with the 7% rent rise which will allow us to repair, upgrade, and retrofit housing and to build and buy much needed social and affordable housing, go a long way in tackling the crisis. However, the reality is that we can only act within the financial limitations of being the lowest funded local authority in Scotland.

“We need a concerted and co-ordinated response, and my thanks go to our partners who have shown support from the day we declared the housing emergency. It gives me great confidence that we can work together to improve the situation, but we can’t do it alone.

“We need more support from the Scottish Government to end the crisis once and for all. Their decision to slash nearly £200m from the affordable housing budget comes at a time when we need vital funding now more than ever. I won’t stop fighting for fairer funding.”

Council drive to address Edinburgh’s housing emergency

An initial draft of an action plan has been published by the City of Edinburgh Council as it works towards tackling growing homelessness in the Capital.

After officially declaring a housing emergency earlier this month – in recognition of close to 5,000 households now facing homelessness against a shortage of affordable housing – the beginnings of a 25-point Housing Emergency Action Plan will be considered by the council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee on Tuesday (5 December).

The plan proposes the council turns void homes around more quickly and spot purchases ‘off the shelf’ homes, to increase affordable housing supply at pace at a time when construction costs have risen exponentially. If agreed, a more detailed strategy featuring costings and specific targets will be created and brought to a full council meeting in February, with input from industry and voluntary organisations from across the city.

It comes as Glasgow City Council follows suit and formally declared a Housing Emergency yesterday (Thursday 30 November).

Councillor Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “We’re truly at a point where urgent, united action must be taken to do right by the most vulnerable in our city.

“Thousands of people in Edinburgh are finding themselves with their lives on hold as they live through the hugely stressful reality of losing their home.

“Every night, close to 5,000 households are now sleeping in temporary accommodation in this city, wondering when and indeed if they will receive the security of a permanent place to live.

“Having a home is a basic human right and by highlighting the issue we’re determined to do everything within our means to address it.

“We’ve seen an outpouring of support from the third sector and industry which gives me great confidence that we can work together to improve the situation and clearly Glasgow is in a similar position. We need to address this issue as a city and nationally at all levels of council and government.

“Despite our success with our partners building close to 7,000 new affordable homes since 2017/18 and having almost 2,000 under construction right now, plus very positive work with the third sector in preventing homelessness, the cost of living crisis means that demand for affordable housing is far outstripping supply.

“The added pressure of rising construction costs and reduced budgets mean we need to think differently. I hope this action plan forms the basis of what will become a wider city plan.”

The Homeless Action Plan will be considered by Committee alongside a series of housing reports which draw attention to the scale of Edinburgh’s housing challenges and opportunities to create more housing, if the funding required to achieve significant change is found.

The Strategy for Purchasing Land and Homes to Meet Affordable Housing Need demonstrates the success the Council has had delivering new homes despite challenging market conditions, which includes the delivery of 1,425 new Council homes and a further 508 currently under construction.

This has been possible through creative working, including for example the council purchasing the old Liberton Hospital site directly from NHS Lothian.

The annual Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) reveals a pipeline of over 11,000 new affordable and social homes could be possible through partnership working in Edinburgh over the next five years, but that would require Scottish Government grant funding of almost £900 million (based on current market costs), or almost four times Edinburgh’s current grant funding allocation for affordable housebuilding.

Further work will take place with Registered Social Landlord partners to understand the impact of the housing emergency to them and tenants, to work together to achieve next steps.