The Housing (Scotland) Bill proposes new “Ask and Act” duties, requiring public bodies to ask about housing situations early to prevent homelessness. To support this, Scottish Government has launched a £4 million Homelessness Prevention Pilot Fund.

“Ask and Act” are new duties proposed in the Housing (Scotland) Bill which requires public bodies to ask about a person’s housing situation early, so action can be taken to prevent homelessness before it happens.

Scottish Government’s Homelessness Prevention Pilot Fund supports a range of bodies (including local authorities, health boards, the police service, registered social landlords (RSLs), and prisons) and third sector organisations experienced in preventing homelessness. The pilots will develop, test, scale, and cost the new prevention duties, aiming to embed prevention duties in practice.

The fund is being administered by Advice Direct Scotland. It is designed to help public bodies and third sector organisations experienced in preventing homelessness to prepare for and test the practical application of the new prevention duties, with a particular focus on how “Ask and Act” can be effectively embedded in day-to-day practice. It will also help relevant bodies and others to scope out the groups most at risk of homelessness, identify resource requirements, and best practice approaches.

Examples of the types of approaches the fund will support include:

early intervention and targeted prevention activity
multi-agency approaches to support people navigating housing and health and social care services
partnership models and processes that can be replicated and scaled
collaborations involving shared resources, data, and transitional or referred services
initiatives that centre people at risk of homelessness and/or people with direct experience of homelessness in the design and delivery of the service
initiatives that target groups at risk of homelessness and critical points
in service pathways that have been identified as leading to homelessness

Who Can Apply?

The fund is open to a range of public bodies (including local authorities, health boards, the police service, registered social landlords (RSLs), and prisons) and third sector organisations.

Consortia groups (involving one or more named relevant body, and public and third sector organisations) can apply. While consortia can be formed around a locality, sector, service or target groups, the fund is committed to seeking a minimum of one pilot per relevant body and sector.