In 2018, as part of the Scottish Government ambitions to End Homelessness they instructed all local authorities to develop five-year plans, detailing the steps each local authority would take to move to a rapid housing approach - where homeless households get settled housing as quickly as possible. Updates on RRTP progress are required to be submitted to the Scottish Government annually.
In 2019, the council launched its local RRTP detailing its plans to increase its efforts to prevent homelessness, improve access to all social rented housing and reduce the reliance on temporary B&B accommodation.
An upcoming meeting of West Lothian Council Executive will be asked to consider the proposed final update to the council's RRTP ahead of its submission at the end of January.
The proposed update notes that there remains a significant imbalance between the demand and supply of affordable social homes in West Lothian with severe pressures in homeless services. RRTP has also been impacted by unprecedented external challenges such as COVID-19 and the cost of living crisis. The RRTP however remains a key strategy for the council, helping to drive positive changes in homelessness services and strive to meet the Scottish Governments ambitions to end homelessness.
Despite the challenges, RRTP has continued to make significant contributions towards preventing and responding to homelessness across 2023/24 with highlights including:
- A reduction in homeless applications by 7.1%, decreasing from 1,252 in 2022/23 to 1,169 in 2023/24;
- The length of stay in temporary accommodation reducing by 11 days, reducing from 152 days in 2022/23 to 141 days in 2023/24 through the introduction of Rapid Access accommodation;
- An increase in lets to homeless households by 2.2% from the previous year;
- 121 more properties re-let from the previous year through the introduction of an extensive void improvement programme.
With the RRTP now reaching the end of its five-year timeline, the report to committee notes that council officers are in the process of developing a new three-year homeless strategy which will look to build on the previous RRTP and transition RRTP into mainstream services.
Head of Housing Customer and Building Services, Julie Whitelaw said: "There are significant challenges still ahead for the council and demand for homeless services in West Lothian is predicted to remain high. RRTPs play a key role in continuing to strive to address these pressures and now require to be updated and extended beyond the initial five-year plans.
"There is now an opportunity to reset RRTP by developing a refreshed Homeless Strategy with engagement and buy in from key partners and stakeholders which takes a sharper focus on the priorities and actions that are needed to strive towards meeting the ambitions of Ending Homelessness together in partnership."
