The Herald today has this nasty, exploitative image to misrepresent the nature of homelessness for children in Scotland.

A child sleeping rough or begging on the streets would be picked up and taken to a safe place.

Some facts about homelessness in the UK they don’t want you to know:

1 Core Homelessness lowest in Scotland

‘Core homelessness’ – a concept which captures the most severe and immediate forms of homelessness – is estimated to have stood at 14,250 households on a given night in Scotland in 2019, having been relatively stable over the preceding seven years. Rates of core homelessness are substantially lower in Scotland (0.57% of households) than in England (0.94%) and Wales (0.66%). 

https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/homelessness-monitor/scotland/the-homelessness-monitor-scotland-2021/

2 Homelessness applications were almost twice as high under Labour/Lib Dems in 2006

Child homelessness in Scotland hits new record high. In total, there were 29,652 open homelessness cases in March 2023, which was a 15% rise on last year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66645983?at_link_origin=BBCScotlandNews&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_link_type=web_link&at_format=link&at_medium=social&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_id=ECDEE698-4651-11EE-A34C-ACA0FF7C7F44&at_campaign=Social_Flow

There were around 58 000 cases in 2006, the last year of the Labour Government in Scotland.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/high-level-summary-statistics-key-trends-scotland-2006/pages/12/

3 Child homelessness is 30% higher in England

From BBC UK July 2023:

The number of people living in temporary accommodation in England has hit a 25-year high, according to the latest official figures. Almost 105,000 households were in temporary accommodation, including more than 131,000 children, on 31 March this year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66296333

From the Scottish Government in September 2022:

The latest statistics show that on 30^th September 2022 there were 9,130 children in Scotland living in TA.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/temporary-accommodation-task-finish-group-final-report-recommendations/pages/2/#:~:text=Numbers%20in%20temporary%20accommodation&text=There%20are%20also%20increasing%20numbers,the%20highest%20number%20on%20record

All things being equal (they’re not), England with 10 times the population might be expected to have 10 times the number of homeless children, 91 300, but has 131 000 or 30.3% more.

While the Scottish figures are, of course, unacceptable and further evidence that we must stick with the socialist policies of the SNP and its new FM as opposed to the brutal conservatism of the Labour Party under Starmar/Sarwar, it remains in the public interest to be aware that homelessness for children in England under the Cons is 30% higher than under the SNP in Scotland

4 Homeless in under Tories or Labour expected to surge to twice that under SNP

In the Guardian July 2023:

Michael Gove’s department is handing back £1.9bn to the Treasury originally meant to tackle England’s housing crisis after struggling to find projects to spend it on….Analysis by the consultancy Lichfields has found new housebuilding is expected to drop to its lowest level in decades, while 580,000 extra people are likely to find themselves homeless, “sofa surfing” in the homes of friends or family. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/12/gove-department-hands-back-19bn-meant-tackle-england-housing-crisis

According to BBC Scotland, on 31 January 2023, there are 28 944 homeless in Scotland, ‘the highest level on record‘ : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64464412

Based on this, all things being equal (funny I know), with 10 times the population, England might be expected to have around 290 000 homeless but is predicted to have double that.

To avoid being accused of hyperbole, I’ve ignored the fact that the 580 000 projection is ‘extra.’

5 Rough sleeping less common in Scotland

research by Crisis, reported in a Welsh newspaper(!):

The proportion of people suffering from the worst forms of homelessness in Scotland is about half as high as in England, campaigners have claimed.

Almost one in 100 households in England (0.94%) were experiencing what the charity Crisis called “forms of core homelessness” – such as sleeping on the streets, sofa surfing, or staying in either unsuitable temporary accommodation like B&Bs or living in garages or industrial premises

That rate compares to 0.66% of households in Wales and 0.57% in Scotland, Crisis said.

The charity put this down in part to Scottish ministers having the “right political will” to tackle the problem. https://www.denbighshirefreepress.co.uk/news/national/19611471.homeless-rate-scotland-half-england-says-crisis/