Housing secretary targets length of stay in temporary accommodation

Scotland’s housing secretary has said she wants to bring down the length of time people spend in temporary accommodation, which she described as a “really important safety net”.

Figures released last week showed that the highest number of children on record were in temporary accommodation at the end of September last year, while total homelessness applications had come down.

But speaking to the Press Association, Mairi McAllan said her focus was more on how long people are spending in temporary accommodation than the number of people in it.

The most recent figures showed the average time spent between April and September was 237 days – around eight months – the same figure for the same period in 2024 and a small drop from 241 between October 2024 and March last year.

“It’s a situation I want to see turned around,” she said about the number of children in temporary accommodation.

“I would say two things for context on the numbers – people have a right to temporary accommodation in Scotland, so it’s not something that you have to fight for, it’s not something that only some are entitled to.

“If you’re assessed as being homeless, you’ve got a right to temp.

“So we have to provide more of it by virtue of our laws.

The Housing Secretary spoke to the Press Association.. PA Media

“The other thing is, it’s a really important safety net.

“Basically, that’s the state stepping in and providing a council flat, a council house for people who, for whatever reason, are homeless.”

The housing secretary said she had secured around £80m for councils to purchase homes that can be used to help people out of temporary accommodation, while also investing £926m into the country’s volatile affordable housebuilding system.

“I hope that all of that will mean that in statistics to come, yes, temporary accommodation will still be there for families who need it, but they will be moving swiftly into a permanent home,” she said.

Pressed on whether the next batch of statistics – covering the period over this winter – would show a drop in the number of people in temporary accommodation, McAllan said: “What I would rather see is the length of time spent in temp coming down, because, as I say, temporary accommodation is a fundamental part of support that the state offers, so people using it when they’re homeless – it’s not a good thing – but it’s part of protections operating.

“What I would like to see, and what I would hope to see, is the time spent in it coming down, because people will be moving on to their permanent accommodation sooner.”