More than half of homeless deaths are drug-related

There were 256 people who died while homeless in Scotland in 2020, an increase of 40 on the previous year.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS) said comparable figures for England and Wales were not yet available.

But in previous years Scotland's rate of homeless deaths was about three times as high as the rest of Britain.

More than half of homeless deaths in Scotland (59%) were drug-related, the figures suggest. There were no deaths where the underlying cause was Covid.

Eight per cent of deaths were due to circulatory diseases - such as heart disease and stroke - and 5% were due to cancers.

The experimental figures are compiled by examining death registration records to find people who were either in temporary accommodation or were sleeping rough before they died.

The NRS said the figures were a conservative estimate and the true figure was probably higher.

The statistics found:

Homeless deaths in Scotland have been rising steadily for four years but 2020's estimated total needs to be seen in a broader context.

Last March, authorities rushed to provide emergency accommodation for rough sleepers as Covid arrived in Scotland.

Those who would normally be turning up to night shelters found themselves in city centre hotels.

Perhaps deaths may have become more visible as a result - with reports of nine in a single hotel in Glasgow last year.

However, it also led to reports of very low numbers of people left on the street.

The Scottish Government claimed there were just 11 rough sleepers on a single night across the country. Pre-Covid, there were an estimated 700 people each night.

But homelessness isn't just about rough sleeping. The vast majority of homeless cases are placed in temporary accommodation, such as bed-and-breakfasts, hostels and furnished flats.

In the five years before the pandemic, Scotland would typically see between 10,000 and 11,000 households placed in this system. By March this year, it had crept up to 13,000 while there were longer waiting times for permanent accommodation.

And of course, this issue has crossover with Scotland's record drug death figures. More than half of those homeless deaths were drug-related.

The Scottish government is rolling out its Housing First programme - a system which sees homeless applicants immediately placed into a permanent home and given wraparound support from services to help maintain their new home.

Its pilot schemes across five areas in Scotland have made slow progress and missed targets. But the scheme has helped more than 500 people so far, with more than 80% of tenancies started under Housing First being maintained.

Its advocates say this system provides stability and a positive impact on the lives of those struggling with addiction, mental health issues and homelessness.

The NRS's head of vital events, Julie Ramsay, said: "While these statistics help our understanding of this issue, it's important to understand these figures are currently experimental and the methodology is under development.

"The estimated number of people dying while experiencing homelessness has risen consistently over the past three years. Improvements to the data sources and the ability to identify whether a person was homeless may partly explain some of this increase since 2017."

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of housing charity Crisis, said: "It's shocking that even more people died while experiencing homelessness last year. Behind every one of these statistics is a real person, with friends and families. They formed a part of our communities and they will be missed.

"Homelessness is an injustice, but it is also a public health emergency. Far too many lives have been cut short and many of these deaths will have been avoidable. That is unacceptable."

The Scottish government's Housing Secretary Shona Robison said the findings were concerning.

"This shows why we must go even further in our efforts to end homelessness and rough sleeping for good," she said.

She said the government was investing more than £50m over this parliamentary term to end homelessness and rough sleeping, including support for rapid rehousing and Housing First.

Ms Robison said the government would be introducing new laws to prevent homelessness before it occurs, and improving co-operation between health and housing services, with specific measures to help those with more complex needs.

Scottish Conservative housing spokesman Miles Briggs said: "These figures should be a source of shame for the SNP. They have failed year after year to tackle a rise in homeless deaths on our streets and the situation is only getting worse.

"The majority of these deaths are directly linked to drugs, which is why we must guarantee those who need treatment will have access to it. I call on everyone to support Scottish Conservative plans for a Right to Recovery Bill."

Scottish Labour housing spokesman Mark Griffin said it was "deeply troubling" to hear of so many deaths of homeless people in Scotland.

"With such a steep rise in numbers, there must be a full and frank investigation into the damage done by the pandemic," he said.

"It is clear that cuts to councils and to support networks will be putting lives in danger."

The Scottish Liberal Democrat's Willie Rennie called the deaths a "national shame" and said it reflected failed policies on drugs, mental health and housing.

He said: "The Scottish government were astonishingly complacent. They thought that giving homeless people a hotel room through the pandemic was enough, but all these deaths show it takes more than a roof to tackle homelessness.

"People deserve proper all-round support to meet all their health, welfare and economic needs and this government has failed to adequately address that for years on end."