Meeting of the Parliament 25 March 2026 [Draft]
I echo Clare Adamson’s thanks. On her question, temporary accommodation provides a vital safety net as part of our housing system in Scotland, but we, of course, want people to spend as little time as possible there.
I will run through some of the actions that we have taken recently, which underline the importance that we place on the issue. I have mentioned the record funding of £926 million that we have secured for next year, which has been coupled with record certainty. We have doubled to £80 million the voids and acquisitions funds, which help councils to buy properties or turn them back round for use. We are supporting the flipping of temporary accommodation to permanent accommodation. We have created a national fund to leave. We have expanded our housing first scheme.
We have introduced evidence-based rent controls, but we have made clear exemptions for mid-market and build-to-rent properties. We have brought Awaab’s law to the floor of the Parliament. We have passed new laws to remove perpetrators of domestic abuse from social homes. As my colleague Shirley-Anne Somerville noted, we have just introduced a £9 million fund to mitigate the United Kingdom’s local housing allowance freeze, together with a new delivery agency and a promised first-home fund.