Judy Hamilton

The local authority declared a Housing Emergency on 21st March last year.

And in June 2024, the council’s Cabinet Committee agreed an action plan to tackle the issue and make sure homelessness statutory duties and legal responsibilities to tenants and other housing customers were being met.

Yesterday, councillors heard an update on progress and how the Housing Emergency Programme Board is working to improve the situation across Fife and reduce reliance on unsuitable accommodation.

Housing spokesperson Cllr Judy Hamilton commented: “The use of B&B accommodation became more prominent in the pandemic and post-pandemic years when our housing service struggled to cope with service demands. We’ve put a number of measures in place which are proving to be successful.”

The council is working to:

• Increase provision of community-based accommodation
• Develop and implement new models of direct access accommodation in partnership with appropriate services
• Enhance the range of supported accommodation to meet the needs of households with complex needs.
• Enhance the range of supported options available through partner services and recommissioning some existing services.
• Enhance planning and pathway approaches around community groups that are particularly vulnerable to homelessness.

Cllr Hamilton added: “People deserve warm, safe homes that are affordable. We have a duty to ensure no one is left behind, and that every tenant in Fife can live with dignity and security.

“Our homelessness services continue to face significant pressures, both in terms of demand for the services, and the complexity of needs presented by some customers.

“We are making progress in reducing reliance on private accommodation and we’ll now be extending this more broadly to all forms of unsuitable accommodation in our control. However, these practical actions need to take account of the wider housing system as part of a strategic approach to meeting the needs of those where homelessness is unavoidable.”