Scottish Government statistics published this week outlined little change in homelessness over the past year, with more than 10,000 children in Scotland living in temporary accommodation.
Commenting on the statistics, Richard Meade, SFHA CEO, said that while the government’s recent Housing Emergency Action Plan announcements were positive, there was clearly more to be done. Citing our recent research with Shelter and CIH, he noted that Scotland must build over 15,000 social and affordable homes per year to meet housing need - but that currently we are far from that goal.
Key figures
- There were 40,688 homelessness applications recorded in 2024-25. This is a decrease of 1% compared to 2022-23 (41,054).
- There were 31,695 open homelessness cases at 31 March 2025 - an increase of 1% compared to 2024 (31,513).
- There was a total of 17,240 households in temporary accommodation at 31 March 2025; an increase of 6% compared to 2024 (16,330).
- The number of children in temporary accommodation decreased by 2% compared to last year from 10,360 in 2024 to 10,180 in 2025.
You can watch Richard’s interview with ITV Borders here.
