A housing chief has pledged to make reducing the number of children living in temporary accommodation a top priority for the coming year, following new statistics that revealed nearly 850 children were still affected by homelessness in South Lanarkshire at the end of 2025/26.
Statistics show improvement but urgent action needed
Sharon Egan, South Lanarkshire Council’s head of housing services, informed councillors that the figure had decreased from 991 to 849 in 2025/26. However, she emphasised that the total must be reduced swiftly.
Speaking at the housing and technical resources committee on Wednesday, June 3, she stated: “Whilst there are improvements, we still recognise that’s really, really high and that will continue to be the focus for the coming year.”
Homeless presentations also drop
Homeless presentations fell by nine percent, from 2,467 to 2,325. The housing chief described this stabilising trend as encouraging but cautioned that “still a significantly high number of households” were seeking assistance.
One of the most positive developments was the council’s homelessness prevention work. Among households that sought early housing advice, 76.2 percent had their homelessness prevented before it occurred.
Mrs Egan said: “We’re hoping we’re able to provide housing options at the most early stage to people and try and support them and prevent homelessness. That’s a real positive and we’ll continue that in the coming year.”
New temporary accommodation projects launched
It was confirmed that two new temporary accommodation projects are now operational: 15 spaces in a supported accommodation unit and a brand new First Stop project, which opened on Monday.
However, the head of housing was candid about areas where progress remains slow. Reducing the average time households spend in temporary accommodation is rated red in the council’s performance monitoring system.
She said: “This will continue to remain a challenge given our caseload, but it’s a continued focus for us in 2026/27.”
Two-year improvement plan prioritises prevention
A new two-year housing service improvement plan has been built around four priorities: preventing homelessness, alleviating its impact, protecting children and young people, and strengthening partnership working across the system.
Rutherglen Central and North Councillor Andrea Cowan praised the work being done, singling out two initiatives in particular. She said: “Your department is doing great work around homelessness. The thinking outside the box with the Social Bite initiative and the First Stop accommodation that’s recently been acquired — I just want to commend you for that.”
