'Soaring' cost of homelessness in Glasgow could leave £260m shortfall for health and social care

The soaring cost of dealing with rising homelessness in Glasgow could leave health and social care services in the city with a funding shortfall of almost £260m over the next three years.

Glasgow City Council has agreed to cover the cost — estimated to be £45.3m in 2025/26 — of handling the outcome of a UK Government decision to speed up the processing of asylum claims for another year.

However, the city’s integration joint board (IJB), which directs health and social care services, still faces a £42.5m deficit and agreed to cut over 145 jobs to help plug the gap on Wednesday.

A supported living service for the elderly will be stopped.

Financial forecasts show the situation worsening, with a funding gap of £118m over three years. That rises to £259m if the “cost of asylum are included in 26/27 and 27/28”, a report states. Health chiefs warned the situation is “unsustainable”.

The IJB’s interim chief finance officer Margaret Hogg said funding settlements were “not keeping pace with demand or inflationary pressures”.

The board receives funding from both the council and NHS, whose contributions are dependent on their own budget processes and settlements from the Scottish Government.

Cllr Chris Cunningham, SNP, said: “I think it’s really important to highlight the pressure the homelessness position puts on the IJB and the council.

“The reality is we are passing a budget on the back of a letter of comfort about the council’s support in the event that homelessness pressures become too great.”

He said there have to be “real concerns” about the council’s ability to sustain that support in “the event the homelessness issue continues to ratchet up in the way it has in the last couple of years”.

A decision by the previous UK Government to speed up the processing of asylum claims has led to more people presenting as homeless in Glasgow. There were 654 new homeless applicants in February.

Council leader Susan Aitken has previously called on the UK Government to provide more financial help to Glasgow.

The IJB’s financial planning report states Glasgow City Council has “repeatedly affirmed its belief that asylum seekers are welcome in Glasgow and have added to the diversity of our city”.

It adds that in 2024/25, refugees have made up 41% of Glasgow’s homelessness applications (6,605).

“No additional funding has been provided from the UK Government to support these households,” the report continues.

“In addition UK reunification visas are being granted to single refugees to enable families to be reunited and many bring multiple family members, which accounted for 67 households between July 2024 and February 2025 making a homelessness application to the city.

“This pathway isn’t funded by either the UK Government or the Scottish Government.”

In addition to the £45m estimate for 2025/26, it is forecast to cost £62m in 2026/27 and £79m in £2027/28 as the demand is “higher than capacity within the city to offer permanent housing offers.”

Graham Haddock, an IJB member, said that in 2024/25, the city had “accommodated 95% of all asylum cases in Scotland”.

He added: “I just wonder what levers we have at our disposal to try and share the burden with other local authorities across Scotland, and with both the UK and Scottish government in terms of trying to sort this out.”

Glasgow’s IJB chief officer Pat Togher said: “Glasgow is very proud of its dispersal city status, but moving forward we will have a requirement to try and lean in on partners across the whole of Scotland to try and spread the load.”

He said legislation currently doesn’t allow it, as if someone is “presenting in Glasgow who is unintentionally homeless, we have a legal requirement to provide them with emergency accommodation”.