Homelessness Strategy and Prevention Group minutes: January 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Paul McLennan MSP, Co-Chair, Minister for Housing
• Cllr Maureen Chalmers, Co-Chair Community Wellbeing Spokesperson, COSLA
• Aaliya Seyal, Legal Services Agency
• Alison Watson, Shelter Scotland
• Angela Keith, SOLACE
• David Pentland, Change Lead
• John Mills, ALACHO
• Kate Polson, Rock Trust
• Lorraine McGrath, Simon Community
• Maggie Brunjes, Homeless Network Scotland
• Marsha Scott, Scottish Women’s Aid
• Matthew Downie, Crisis UK
• Michelle Major, HNS
• Ruth Robin, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
• Shea Moran, Aff the Streets
• Susie Fitton, SFHA

Officials

• Matt Elsby, Better Homes Deputy Director, SG
• Janine Kellett, Head of Homelessness, SG
• Kerry Shaw, Homelessness Team Leader, SG
• Karen Grieve, Team Leader Homelessness, SG
• Louise Thompson, Homelessness Policy Manager, SG
• Abbie Darge, Homelessness Team, SG
• Laura Fegan, Homelessness Team, SG
• Emily Hornsey, Private Secretary, SG
• Mike Callaghan, COSLA

Apologies

• Janice Stevenson, LGBT Youth Scotland has stood down from HPSG
• Sally Thomas, SFHA (Susie Fitton is attending)

Items and actions

Welcome

Cllr Chalmers welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Change Team update

David Pentland gave an overview of the Change Team sessions at the Homeless Network Scotland conference on 29 and 30 October 2024. The main themes were the need to increase supply of permanent homes, upskilling frontline staff and better information sharing.

Michelle Major shared a new approach for the Change Team who are undertaking peer field research targeting five areas in Scotland (Aberdeen, East Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, Midlothian and Perth). Change Leads will engage with people with lived experience and frontline workers to better understand people’s experiences of homelessness and identify best practice, with the aim of sharing information on what has brought about the decreases in the number of people in the homelessness system.

Housing emergency – housing supply and update from H2040 Board

Karen Grieve summarised the discussion at the Housing to 2040 Board meeting on 8 January, which had included four new temporary members. HPSG members were updated on progress made to date, including the targeted approach with the local authorities experiencing the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures and deep dives to explore their data. Progress to date also includes engagement with energy suppliers to reduce voids, work to address stalled sites, and progress on empty homes and bringing properties back into use. The board also discussed the 2025-26 budget, including an ask that the Cabinet Secretary made for members to come forward with proposals as to how the budget should be spent.

HPSG members were supportive of the targeted approach to support local authorities and asked how the successes to date (e.g. targeted funding for acquisitions) can be built upon and scaled up. There was also a reminder not to lose the long-term aims despite the current short-term focus, that there needed to be reflection and that focused work should be reviewed. There was also some discussion on how the 2025-26 budget could be targeted to geographic areas or targeted to groups of people. In response to the question “When we will know when the housing emergency is over?” one answer was “When local authorities are legally compliant with their statutory duties.”

Housing emergency – homelessness

In September 2024, HSPG members agreed the homelessness approach to the housing emergency should be captured under three themes: reduce harm, reduce the backlog, and prevent homelessness.

• reduce harm: Kerry Shaw shared an update on winter planning and rough sleeping with a particular focus on Glasgow and Edinburgh. Glasgow has taken a new approach this winter, which will be reviewed by SG at the end of the winter season. Edinburgh operated a rapid rehousing welcome centre which was similar to previous years. SG funding for personalised budgets allowed frontline staff to flexibly support people’s needs at that point in time, spot purchasing emergency accommodation, particularly for people with NRPF

Cllr Chalmers confirmed COSLA is undertaking work on people with no recourse to public funds and will share this work with HPSG once it is more developed.

• reduce the backlog: Members suggested we need to understand more about targeted groups of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness; where there are pressures on supply; and better information sharing, for example, on people eligible for the prison early release programme
• prevent homelessness: There has been progress on prevention as part of the engagement for the Housing (Scotland) Bill, in particular what ‘ask and act’ will look like in practice

Action: People with NRPF to be discussed at a future HPSG meeting.

SG budget and prevention funding

HPSG members discussed options for the £4 million fund to pilot what ask and act means in practice ahead of the new prevention duties in the Housing (Scotland) Bill. Concerns were noted of the potential burden falling to local authorities if act is interpreted as a duty to refer.

Action: HPSG members interested in discussing the value of health, homelessness and housing engagement to contact Ruth.

RRTP sub-group meeting update

Maggie Brunjes shared an overview of the paper she presented to the sub-group on the next phase for rapid rehousing transition plans, particularly on how a collaborative peer review and support process (similar to that in place for Housing First) could bring clarity to the method of achieving the desired transition of homelessness systems. The uncertainty of future funding remains a concern for the group.

Any Other Business

HPSG members were introduced to the three new Deputy Directors in the Housing Directorate at Scottish Government:

• DD for Better Homes: Matt Elsby
• DD for More Homes: Will Tyler-Greig
• DD for Housing Emergency: Lauren McNamara

Bi-annual homelessness in Scotland statistics covering the period from 1 April 2024 to 30 September 2024 will be published on 5 February 2025.