CAMPAIGNERS have called for thousands of people to be moved into “safe and settled homes” as new homelessness statistics show the number of people being sheltered in temporary accommodation has soared during the pandemic – while unresolved homelessness cases have risen by one fifth.
Official statistics show that as of September 2020, 14,151 households were in temporary accommodation – a 24 per cent increase in the space of a year. The use of B&B accommodation to house people has doubled during the pandemic.
During the period of April to September 2020, the number of homelessness applications fell. But there was also a reduction in the number of cases closed meaning the number of open homelessness cases at 30 September 2020 reached 27,332, a 20% increase on the figure from 30 September 2019.
The hike in the use of temporary accommodation during the pandemic was down to a need to ensure the use of self-contained accommodation for people to be able to self-isolate.
READ MORE: 14,000 families 'stuck' in temporary homes amid homelessness pressures
The Scottish Government statistical report points to a “notable increase in the use of bed and breakfast accommodation” during the pandemic, while the use of hostels declined.
It adds: “Bed and breakfast accommodation was increasingly offered to households in this period as it was easier for households to socially distance in this accommodation type in comparison to other more communal accommodation such as hostels.
“It remains the case that hostel and bed and breakfast accommodation is far less likely to be used for households with children than those without.”
The total number of homelessness applications between April and September 2020 declined by 10% from the same period in 2019 – with 16,997 being recorded.
The pressures of the lockdown caused a rise in homelessness applicants having to leave accommodation – now making up 27% of all applications, while 23% were forced to leave their home because of a dispute of relationship breakdown – a 5% increase from the previous year.
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Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “At the start of the pandemic our priority was supporting people off the streets and ensuring they had safe, self-contained accommodation. There is no doubt that extraordinary action by national and local government, as well as homelessness services, saved lives from both coronavirus and the cold, but these interventions are short-term solutions.
“We’ve seen huge progress in ending rough sleeping in Scotland. This has led to record numbers of people living in temporary accommodation, with many people being left without access to proper laundry or cooking facilities. We now need to see action to ensure these people are supported quickly into safe and settled homes.”
He added: “We’ve also seen a rise in the number of people becoming homeless after being asked to leave home, or following household disputes. It is vital that anyone at risk of losing their home can access support and advice early, to help them avoid losing their homes and having to make decisions at a point of crisis.
“The best way to end homelessness is to prevent it happening in the first place. That’s why we are calling on all parties to make preventing and ending homelessness a national priority ahead of the election.”
Alison Watson, director of Shelter Scotland, warned that "thousands of people have endured lockdown in homeless accommodation because our country is in the grip of a scandalous housing emergency caused by the lack of safe, secure and affordable social homes".
She added: “To see a near doubling of the use of bed and breakfast exposes just how grossly under-resourced councils were before the pandemic triggered more funding to make use of available tourist accommodation. These protections should always have been there. It’s the law, it was the law and it remains the law.
“We can see that when the political will is there, homelessness can be resourced in a way which takes people off the streets and keeps others in their homes.
“This has to be just the start. The temporary protections for tenants need to be made permanent to prevent a future wave of homelessness.
“But more than anything else we need to get real about our commitment to reducing the numbers of people living without the safe, secure and affordable homes they need. Independent researchers have told us that means 37,100 new social homes in the next five years. We won’t rest until there’s a home for everyone.”
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart has stressed that the Scottish Government’s priority has been “to keep people safe from Covid-19", adding that “housing people without a settled home in temporary accommodation was a public health imperative to keep people safe”.
He said: “Temporary accommodation can offer an important safety net, but it should be a short-term measure – we do not want to see anyone in temporary accommodation for longer than is absolutely necessary. We are now providing £30 million to local authorities and working hard to move people into a settled home.
“This is the first set of official homelessness statistics for which coronavirus restrictions were in place for the full reporting period, and the trends can largely be explained by the Scottish Government’s range of actions to keep people safe in the pandemic, such as the introduction of stay at home guidance and our extension of eviction notice periods.
“We remain committed to ending rough sleeping and homelessness and our action plan lays out how we will get there. The provision of homes is an important part of that and I am proud we have led the way on affordable housing, having delivered almost 100,000 since 2007, more than 68,000 of which were for social rent.”
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