- First 100 days commitments continue to be met
Halfway through the first 100 days of the Scottish Government
formed in May, the rollout of an expanded 10-year £50 million
Homelessness Prevention Fund is underway.
£1 million is being made available for a second year to enable
social landlords and third sector organisations to support
tenants to stay in their homes.
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Homeless
Network Scotland are administering phase two of the Upstream
Homelessness Prevention Fund. This will provide a range of
support to households in Glasgow, including assistance
with rent arrears, repairs and furniture costs alongside
initiatives to prevent people becoming homeless.
The fund is in addition to the £9 million invested to mitigate
the impact of the UK Government's decision to freeze Local
Housing Allowance (LHA) rates in 2026-27. It forms part of the
commitment to spend £50 million on homelessness prevention
activity over the next decade.
Deputy First Minister will
visit Sanctuary Housing Association's offices and development in
Toryglen, Glasgow.
Ms Gilruth said:
"Preventing homelessness is not just the right thing to do it is
the most effective way to end it for good.
"For too long, the system has been geared towards responding to
crisis rather than stopping it happen.
So in our first 100 days in government, we are rolling out
funding which will help to change that.
This fund will help build up capacity of communities and
public services to act earlier, supporting people before
situations become critical and embedding prevention across
organisations that interact with those at risk.
"Homelessness is devastating, but we know that most of it is
preventable. That is why sustained, long-term investment in
prevention is central to everything we are doing."
Director of External Affairs at the Scottish Federation
of Housing Associations Paul Bradley said:
The Upstream Homelessness Prevention Fund has had a
transformative impact in preventing homelessnessfor hundreds of
people across Scotland, so wewholly welcomeits extension.
This funding is further
proof that prevention works, and
that housing associations, working
alongside government and
partners, can reach tenants long
before a crisis.
The greatest way totacklehomelessness is to
preventit in the first
place.Prevention funding running alongside a strong supply
of safe,
warm, and affordable homes gives Scotland the best chance of
a true step-change so no one has
to face losing their home.
Homeless Network Scotland Chief Executive Maggie Brunjes said:
Preventing homelessness starts where people live. This second
round of the Upstream Prevention Fund is a vital investment in
Glasgow. Housing associations are ideally placed to prevent
homelessness through their strong community roots and close
partnerships with local charities.
Homelessness charities play a key strategic role too, bringing
deep knowledge of the issues people face and how to tackle them
early. Working with SFHA and local partners, we will build on the
success of the first round to help more households stay in their
homes and make prevention and joined-up support a real
priority across the city.
