SNP issued human rights warning over winter deaths as rough sleeping soars

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has told The Scotsman that it is “concerned that persistent and systemic poverty in Scotland” is linked to “human rights denials for too many people”.

The Everyone Home collective has written letters to SNP social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville and UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, raising fears over “people’s fundamental right to life” being put at risk by people sleeping on the streets this winter.

The collective, made up of dozens of charities and academic organisations, has demanded co-ordinated action from politicians to tackle Scotland's homelessness emergency.

Everyone Home has also written to the Scottish Human Rights Commission to ask the watchdog to urgently investigate this potential breach of government obligations to protect the fundamental right to life.

Read more: The staggering figures behind Scotland's homelessness crisis amid 1700% housing gap spike

The 40 organisations have also urged the Home Office to provide Scottish local authorities with resources to ensure people granted Leave to Remain status can move quickly into settled homes - accusing the UK government of “washing their hands of any responsibility”.

The letter highlights that last year, there was a higher number of people rough sleeping than before the pandemic.

Maggie Brunjes, chief executive, Homeless Network Scotland said: “As we move into the coldest part of the year, we cannot allow an already bad situation to descend into tragedy.

“We need swift action to allocate and target resources to provide people with – at a minimum – somewhere safe to stay while they wait for a settled home.”

Professor Angela O’Hagan, chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said: “The commission is concerned that persistent and systemic poverty in Scotland is linked to human rights denials for too many people, including the struggle to achieve basic rights such as adequate housing, healthcare and food. 

“As Scotland’s human rights watchdog we will continue to press all those who bear responsibility for human rights in Scotland to take a human rights-based approach to developing urgent policies and practices, to ensure that everyone in Scotland can live a life of human dignity, including a safe place to live. 

Read more: The growing pressure to fix Scotland's 'hidden humanitarian crisis'

“We will remind responsible authorities of the human rights at stake to make it clear that a failure to provide this is in violation of human rights obligations.”

The letter to the Home Secretary warns “the number of households becoming homeless from supported accommodation in Scotland more than doubled from 932 in 2022-23 to 1,978 in 2023-24”, which is “in large part made up of people who have been in asylum accommodation”. 

It adds: “The UK government is currently washing their hands of any responsibility to support people newly out of the asylum system and as a result, is directly contributing to very significant pressure on housing and homelessness services, including provision of accommodation this winter.”

Scottish Refugee Council CEO, Sabir Zazai, said: “Homelessness is an assault on dignity, social inclusion and the right to life.

“No one in Scotland, including people who have fled violence and persecution to seek safety here, should ever have to sleep on the streets.

“The Home Office must support local councils to ensure everyone transitioning out of asylum accommodation has a safe place to stay, while all governments have a duty to respond urgently to help the thousands of lives put at risk as a result of this accelerating crisis.”

Scottish Government Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “The Scottish Government is clear that everyone should live in a safe, warm, affordable, high quality and energy efficient home that meets their needs.

“Local authorities have a legal duty to provide accommodation to anyone at risk of homelessness and nobody should have to sleep rough in Scotland.

“We are making available record funding of more than £14bn to councils in 2024-25 to deliver a range of services, including homelessness services – a real terms increase of 4.3 per cent compared to the previous year.

“Over and above the funding for homelessness provided through the local government settlement, we have a £100m multi-year ending homelessness together fund for specific action to prevent homelessness, end rough sleeping and reduce temporary accommodation use.

“Scotland has the strongest rights in the UK for people experiencing homelessness, but we are committed to ensuring that no one need become homeless in the first place by introducing new legislation to make the prevention of homelessness everybody’s business.

“We continue to do everything we can to improve the supply of affordable housing - but truly tackling the housing emergency requires a joint approach between UK, Scottish and local government and housing providers."