Scottish Budget: increased funding must match growing need

Colonel Sylvia Hinton, Secretary for Scotland:

“While the increased funding for local government announced on Tuesday (19/12/2023) in the Scottish Budget is welcome, The Salvation Army is concerned that it won’t provide local authorities with enough resource to prevent homelessness, support those who are already homeless and address rising future demand.

“At The Salvation Army, we see every day how important wrap around support for substance use and mental health is to preventing repeat homelessness and delivering impactful programmes such as Housing First. Scotland has some of the strongest statutory rights in relation to homelessness, but these measures are only meaningful if councils have the resource to meet their responsibilities, respond to rising demand and access adequate housing supply.”