Temporary Accommodation (Impact on Children)
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, “In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation”, which was commissioned by Shelter Scotland and shows the impact that a stay in temporary accommodation can have on children’s safety, health and education. (S6T-02391)
No child should have to stay in accommodation that negatively affects their health, and it will have been hard for families to share those experiences.
The number of children in temporary accommodation is still too high, but our actions are making progress. Our latest statistics show that 20 councils reduced the number of children in temporary accommodation in 2023-24. We have targeted £42 million of funding at the local authorities that have the most sustained pressures, which has supported them to bring 1,000 homes back into use through acquisitions and reducing the number of empty social homes.
From listening yesterday to the voices of those children, it is clear that many young people are placed in totally unacceptable, poor-quality temporary accommodation. We need the Scottish Government to do more to address that.
The research demonstrates the detrimental impact that poor-quality accommodation is having on children’s health and safety. All members who were at the event yesterday heard that. Why has the Scottish Government not provided standards of accommodation for the temporary accommodation sector? Will it take that forward in the Housing (Scotland) Bill?
We are taking forward a number of decisive actions. I mentioned the acquisitions funding. Mr Briggs has previously mentioned Edinburgh. We have taken action with the City of Edinburgh Council to reduce voids by 55 per cent.
I mentioned areas that are facing sustained pressure. There has been a 25 per cent reduction in West Lothian, a 20 per cent reduction in South Lanarkshire and a 23 per cent reduction in Fife. We are taking action in working with local authorities, and we are increasing the affordable housing supply programme budget to £768 million.
On the quality of temporary accommodation, local authorities are expected to work towards meeting the standards that are outlined in the Scottish Government’s temporary accommodation standards framework. We continue to have those discussions as we target acquisitions and voids.
I think that the minister would draw the same conclusion from yesterday’s evidence as the rest of us did: that is not happening. Children are reporting antisocial behaviour in the residences that they are staying in. Rats in cots are being reported. That is totally unacceptable. Clearly, the emergency response that the Scottish Government said that it would bring has not happened. There are 10,360 children in temporary accommodation, which is a 150 per cent increase over the past 10 years.
When it comes to education, there is a very specific ask in the report, which is in relation to children being relocated and therefore having to change schools. Given that the minister says that he works across portfolio with other colleagues, why has the Government not outlined a policy specifically on a presumption against children being moved from their school?
We have taken a number of actions on that. I have previously mentioned the ministerial oversight group, in which I meet ministerial colleagues to discuss the issue, and actions are being taken forward—for example, on flipping. I have had constituents mention the same issue.
Another action that we are taking is a focus on houses for families who have a larger number of children. We are focusing on that through the voids and acquisitions discussions.
I come back to my point about the temporary accommodation standards: we are continuing to press local authorities to make sure that they match those.
In addition to the total service costs and rents that we know lead to the very high cost of being homeless, one parent featured in the report spoke of spending £600 on transport every month to get their children to school or appointments. Others detailed the cost of inadequate cooking facilities and the burden of repeatedly purchasing essential items such as fridges. Some older children spoke of potentially losing their education maintenance allowance, because they were at a higher risk of missing school. In light of that, how will the Scottish Government help to ensure that living in temporary accommodation does not carry an additional financial penalty for children and families in particular?
Emma Roddick has brought up a number of issues. When it comes to temporary accommodation and housing, we have to look at the overall support from the Scottish Government. The Scottish child payment is the only such payment in the United Kingdom, which sets us apart from others.
In addition, the local housing allowance was a key point that was discussed yesterday. Local housing allowance covers the 30th percentile of rents in a given area as an absolute minimum. The UK Government’s decision to freeze rates from 1 April 2025 has therefore put more pressure on families that move into that sector. The Resolution Foundation estimates that permanently repegging rates to the 30th percentile would lift 75,000 children out of poverty by the end of this UK Parliament. I wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in January, urging her to reverse the decision to freeze rates.
It is absolutely appalling that, every single day, thousands of kids are living in the conditions that we hear about in the report. That is despite the Government’s promises to reduce numbers. Every six months, the statistics show that the number of kids in temporary accommodation is growing and growing. Given the report’s findings and the absolutely awful conditions that children are living in, can the minister give a guarantee that, when the next set of statistics is released, we will see a reduction in the number of children living in temporary accommodation?
I think that we are starting to see some investment around, for example, voids and acquisitions. I mentioned the reduction in voids that we have had in Fife, West Lothian, South Lanarkshire and Edinburgh.
We have also heard about the 12 local authorities that have reduced homelessness and the 20 that have reduced homelessness in relation to children.
In the budget that has just been passed, we are also investing £768 million in this financial year to enable the delivery of around 8,000 homes. There is also the £2 million that has been made available in the budget to focus on empty homes, of which there are far too many. We continue to work with the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership to turn around as many homes as we possibly can.
I am not sure that the minister has read the report. The devastating impact is really clear. In it, one mother refers to her 13-year-old son, who is living in temporary accommodation, saying that
“He is more sensitive and sad”.
That is devastating and has lifelong impacts.
I do not think that the minister answered one single question that Miles Briggs posed. I will therefore put to him two of the issues that were put forward. Will the minister impose a ban on moving children between schools, so that they cannot be moved? Will the standards framework be reviewed so that we do not end up with mouldy homes, with vermin in those properties?
I think that Mr Briggs made a number of points.
I was at the launch of the report yesterday and I have read it. I referred in a previous answer to flipping, which is when properties that can be used as temporary accommodation are then turned around to become permanent accommodation.
We work closely with local authorities on the housing that can be available to families—including some families who have three, four or maybe five children. Again, it is about trying to find suitable accommodation that is near the school at the particular time. I also mentioned the ministerial oversight group. I am working with colleagues on that.
I also mentioned some of the issues around homelessness. The report mentions the impact on health and, for example, the impact on a child’s mental health. We are working as closely as we possibly can with local authorities in relation to flipping and on finding suitable accommodation near the child’s school.
I also attended the launch of the hard-hitting report. I thank Shelter for commissioning research that finally gives voice to what those of us on the front line supporting families in temporary accommodation have understood for years: children experience multiple negative impacts to their wellbeing through any period in temporary accommodation, but the impacts are worsened by long periods of poor and unsuitable placements, as well as by multiple moves.
We urgently need more social homes. How can the minister and his ministerial colleagues use this critical report as a lightning rod to galvanise action across the sector to improve experiences now? Children need wraparound, personalised support, safe spaces to play in, and well-lit, fully furnished and safe accommodation near to their school and support network. That should be the rule, not the exception. Everyone who delivers temporary accommodation should be supported to view it through a children’s rights-based lens.
I am aware that Elena Whitham was also at the event yesterday.
As has been touched on by a couple of members, housing and homelessness obviously bring their own issues, but the points about health were raised in the discussions that we had yesterday, and they are important. The mental health issue was talked about as well. We have to make sure that there is not a long-standing impact.
On the point about the quality of accommodation, we expect there to be high-quality properties that meet the temporary accommodation standards. We are talking about how we tackle the voids issue and how we bring empty homes back into use as quickly as possible. I also mentioned the £768 million investment, which will bring houses forward at a quicker pace.
Our ending homelessness together plan is underpinned by a person-centred approach, and we expect local authorities to work to meet the needs of each household in relation to temporary and settled accommodation. For children and young people, that means reducing moves between properties, living in a home close to their school so that they can maintain social connections, and having access to outdoor areas and gardens.
We will obviously consider the recommendations in yesterday’s report.
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