Cutting frequency of publishing statistics on homeless people deaths ‘a scandal’

The decision to cut the frequency of the publication of figures on homelessness deaths has been dubbed a “scandal”.

Plans to move to publishing the figures every two years rather than annually were revealed in a written Holyrood question on Thursday, with a six-week consultation being launched.

The statistics released earlier this year by National Records of Scotland (NRS) estimated 231 homeless people had died in 2024, a 40% increase from 2017.

The decision also comes as figures last month showed almost 3,000 households had slept rough in 2025-26 the day before they applied for homelessness support.

Scottish Green MSP Iris Duane said: “This decision should be considered a scandal.

“Every statistic gathered is more than just a number. These are real people who deserve dignity and a safe place to call home like every one of us.

“Just because we don’t publish the numbers does not mean they are not being felt.

“Every loss is a life, a story and a failed opportunity for the Government to end the scandal of homelessness.

“Too often, every statistic is a person failed by systems that should have been there to support them much earlier, in order to prevent homelessness in the first instance.

“The Scottish Government can do so much more to prevent homeless deaths. Starting with a public health approach, and properly funded, integrated public services including mental health and addiction support, person-centred social care and a trauma-informed justice system.

“But they also need to ensure that NRS keeps sharing that data annually, to ensure that every measure taken is working to end homelessness and deaths related to being unhoused.”

Scottish Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur said not having regular data leaves the Government and Holyrood “ill-equipped to tackle” the issue.

“There were an estimated 231 deaths among homeless people in 2024 which shows what a long way there is to go in tackling both homelessness and its root causes,” he said.

“After 19 years in government, the SNP have a housing emergency, a mental health crisis and a drug deaths tragedy to answer for.

“Cutting statistics on homeless deaths will not make the problem disappear.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats are doing all we can to unpick that damage, securing additional funding for areas including affordable housing and drug services.”

Reform MSP Thomas Kerr said: “In the middle of a full-blown housing and homelessness crisis, instead of getting a grip on the problem, the First Minister is sneakily consulting with National Records Scotland to hide these alarming statistics from the public.

“This is shameless, manipulative and shows utter disregard not only for the vulnerable Scots perishing on our streets but for every voter who is being denied the chance to see what this Government has done about it.

“We demand full transparency over the figures that reflect the reality of this horrendous situation so it can be tackled.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Every death of a person experiencing homelessness highlights its unacceptable cost.

“We are taking decisive action to shift our approach from crisis management to prevention, backed by our £50 million Homelessness Prevention Fund, the delivery of 1,500 Housing First tenancies and our £2 million support for Social Bite’s efforts to address homelessness.”

A spokesperson for NRS said: “NRS has invited feedback on proposed changes to our statistical publication programme.

“People whose work is impacted by the suggested changes in frequency or format of publications are asked to send their views to us by December 3.

“The data in this publication are official statistics in development.

“There is more uncertainty around these estimates so our analysis focuses on changes over longer time periods.

“We are interested to hear from data users how a publication every two years would impact their work.”