Scottish campaigners warn of 'serious risk’ to life this winter from rise in rough sleeping

Lives are being placed at “serious risk” because a lack of accommodation is forcing increasing numbers of homeless people to sleep rough, campaigners have warned.

Everyone Home Collective (EHC), a group of about 40 charitable and academic organisations focused on housing and homelessness, has written to the Scottish Government calling for action to address an “accelerating and avoidable rough sleeping crisis.”

They pointed to Scottish Government figures showing 2,931 people had slept rough before making a homelessness application between April 2023 and March 2024, up from 2,425 the year before and higher than the pre-pandemic figure, the group said.

The EHC blamed the rise on the housing emergency and use of “unsuitable temporary accommodation” in Scotland, and said the situation was being worsened by the cost-of-living crisis, austerity policies and “inadequate social security”.

The EHC said: “Every person who is forced to sleep rough is one too many.

“Being left with no choice but to sleep in doorways and tunnels and parks severely damages people’s health and wellbeing, risks their safety and their lives, strips them of dignity and affects our wider communities too.

“In Scotland in 2024, no one should be left with no choice but to sleep on the street, and we emphasise that forcing people to do so at any time of year and particularly during winter puts their life at risk.”