The Everyone Home collective has written to Scottish Government cabinet secretary for social justice Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP and COSLA Community Wellbeing spokesperson Councillor Maureen Chalmers voicing “serious concern” that the housing emergency will put lives at risk in the coming months.

As things stand, there is simply not enough accommodation available for those who are homeless this winter.

The group, made up of nearly 40 third and academic sector organisations focused on housing and homelessness, issued a call for coordinated action as it warned of an accelerating crisis magnified by factors including cost-of-living pressures, austerity and inadequate social security.

Everyone Home has also for the first time written to the Scottish Human Rights Commission to ask them to urgently investigate this potential breach of government obligations to protect the fundamental right to life. Both Scottish Government and local authorities have duties under the Human Rights Act 1998 to take measures to safeguard lives.

In addition, the organisations have urged UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP to ensure that the Home Office plays its part in preventing homelessness in Scotland. The Home Office must provide local authorities in Scotland with resources to ensure people granted Leave to Remain can move quickly into settled homes.

Everyone Home states: “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.”

It comes after Scottish Government statistics for 2023/24 showed that the number of people who slept rough prior to a homelessness application rose by 506 to 2,931 in the last year. That represents 7% of all households making an application and is higher than the pre-pandemic figure.

The statistics also revealed rough sleeping is on the rise across much of the country – including locations not traditionally affected to the same extent as urban areas.

Today marks the start of Scotland’s annual two-day homelessness conference at Perth Concert Hall, where the homelessness and housing sectors gather.

Action to address the housing emergency now and in the longer term is top of the agenda, along with strengthening prevention and ensuring public bodies are equipped to deliver on their duties to address and prevent homelessness.

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 local and national government teams to work together quickly and effectively to protect lives by ensuring everyone has a safe place to stay.

“The bar has been set far too low for those at the sharpest end of homelessness this year and we cannot accept this. 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.”