Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 March 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering a faster roll-out of the Housing First approach, in response to the latest statistics on the number of deaths of homeless people in Scotland, which show that 231 people died in 2024, representing an increase of 40% since the data was first collected in 2017.
The Scottish Government remains firmly committed to the delivery of Housing First and continues to support its growth across Scotland through sustained investment in rapid rehousing and the implementation of rapid rehousing transition plans. Between 2018 and the end of March 2027 a total of £84.5 million will have been provided to local authorities to support rapid rehousing activity, including the delivery of Housing First.
The Scottish Government’s housing emergency action plan demonstrated our ongoing commitment to improving housing options for people with multiple and complex needs by including investment of £3 million capital and £1 million resource for the expansion of Housing First in 2025-26.
The Scottish Government also provides funding annually to Homeless Network Scotland to deliver a suite of tools designed to support local authorities and their delivery partners to scale-up and expand Housing First in Scotland, including the National Framework for Housing First and the Housing First Check-Up process.
Reporting on the delivery of Housing First will become a statutory requirement under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, ensuring transparency, consistency and evidence based improvement.