FUNDING has been awarded to help previously homeless people move out of temporary accommodation and into more settled housing.
The Scottish Government has confirmed £8 million will be given to councils’ rehousing schemes in each of the next two years.
The final two years of the funding will take Scottish Government investment in homelessness rehousing to £53.5m between 2019 and 2024.
Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “Tackling homelessness is about much more than just providing a bed for the night.
“Temporary accommodation is an important safety net, but most people need a settled place to stay where they can rebuild their lives.
“Rapid rehousing is based around the idea that most people need a settled home, and this new funding will help councils progress their rapid rehousing transition plans to move people as quickly as possible into appropriate, settled accommodation.
“The best way to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation is to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place, and today’s announcement follows the recent publication of our consultation on plans for new legal duties on public bodies, highlighting the shared public responsibility to prevent homelessness in Scotland.”
The consultation referenced by Robison is a proposal that public organisations could be given a legal duty to prevent homelessness.
Scotland’s health service, police and children’s organisations would be among the groups required to identify people at risk of becoming homeless and take action themselves or refer the person to get help.
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