Children’s temporary accommodation plight revealed in new report

Children living in Scotland suffered nearly 1 million days of homelessness last year, according to a new report from Shelter Scotland.

Analysis of statistics (following a Freedom of Information request by the charity) from the Scottish Government shows that in 2014-15 local authorities provided around 3.8 million days of temporary accommodation for homeless households, of which nearly 1 million were for households with children.

‘The use of temporary accommodation in Scotland‘ report also highlights that 61% of all homeless households (21,200 households) received temporary accommodation while the local authority resolved their homeless application.

Temporary accommodation provides an important safety net for families that have lost their home, but extended stays can be detrimental to wellbeing, particularly for children. On average, households in temporary accommodation stayed there for 23 weeks. However, a third spent over 6 months in temporary accommodation and 1 in 10 spent over a year.

Half of all households with children spent more than 17 weeks in temporary accommodation, which was higher than the 13-week median for households without children.

A massive shortage of affordable social housing for people in temporary accommodation to move into for the longer term and a lack of real options for local authorities to address the housing crisis is behind the figures. According to Audit Scotland, using temporary accommodation costs Scottish local authorities around £27 million a year more than housing them in permanent homes.

Alison Watson, deputy director of Shelter Scotland, said: “Homeless children in Scotland spending a total of almost one million days in temporary accommodation last year is a staggering statistic and is simply not good enough. The impact of homelessness on children can be devastating to their health and life chances, with each homeless child losing on average 55 days of schooling a year.

“To tackle Scotland’s housing crisis and help end housing-related poverty, the Scottish Government needs to commit to a major house building programme of at least 12,000 new affordable homes each year for the next five years.

“This would help reduce long stays in temporary accommodation and bring hope of a home to the 150,000 households on council waiting lists across Scotland.”

Alison Watson continued: “The Scottish Government also needs to develop and endorse guidance on temporary accommodation standards to ensure that stays in temporary accommodation are a positive stepping stone rather than life in limbo for all those waiting for a decent, secure and affordable home.

Alison Watson concluded: “Last month we highlighted the plight of almost 5,000 children being homeless at Christmas and the need for urgent action. This report is further evidence of Scotland’s housing crisis and why we need political commitment to a major house building programme right now, to ensure that no child spends Christmas or any other time of the year homeless, living in temporary accommodation.”

Download the full report: ‘The use of temporary accommodation in Scotland‘.