CIH Scotland and ALACHO write to the Housing Minister

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland and the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO) have sent a joint letter to Paul McLennan MSP Minister for Housing, outlining significant concerns with the pressures being faced by housing and homelessness services.

The letter highlights the latest homelessness statistics showing:

• 39,000 homeless applications during 2022/23, up nine per cent compared to the previous year, and the highest since records began;
• More households and children than ever in temporary accommodation, up six and nine per cent respectively;
• Longer stays in temporary accommodation, now averaging 223 days;
• More local authorities having to resort to the regular and repeated use of unsuitable temporary accommodation; and
• Increasing numbers of open cases as people face longer waits to be rehoused, an increase of 15 per cent to 29,652 households in 2022/23.

Both organisations are calling for the Scottish Government to take urgent action to avoid a deepening crisis in the response to homelessness across Scotland.