A new pilot aimed at preventing people from becoming homeless has officially been given the go-ahead in the Capital after the Council and partners were awarded funding from the Scottish Government.
The System Wide Approach to Prevention (SWAP) – ‘Ask and Act’ initiative will be piloted in Wester Hailes, providing earlier interventions and practical support to help people at risk of homelessness to remain in their homes.
The launch follows the recent passing of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 which places new legal duties on public bodies to ask about a person’s housing situation and take action to prevent homelessness before it happens.
Across Scotland, 15 projects are sharing £4 million through the Homelessness Prevention Pilot Fund, administered by Advice Direct Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, to develop and test prevention pilots.
A team will now be created in the Capital which will include public and third-sector partners. They will be trialling new models of working to provide co-ordinated and timely support for individuals and households at risk of homelessness.
The ‘Ask’ and ‘Act’ duties will be embedded in everyday services provided by partners in the Wester Hailes area. The services working in partnership with the Council to deliver these duties are NHS Lothian, Police Scotland, Prospect Community Housing, Social Security Scotland, Scottish Prison Service and Crisis.
This approach will allow them to identify what people need help earlier, offer support directly, and request further help and support via a single point of contact within the Council’s prevention services.
Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, Tim Pogson said:
This is fantastic news, being awarded just over £600k from a £4 million fund for the whole of Scotland is a tremendous endorsement of our proposal, and I’m grateful to the team who brought it together and partners for agreeing to be part of this. It will also help us boost our efforts to tackle the housing emergency facing the city. It’s exciting that work is already under way, and I’m confident we’ll see positive results in the new year.
Preventing homelessness and supporting tenants before they reach crisis point is essential to ensuring as many people as possible have a secure home. Last year alone, our homelessness prevention services helped 2,622 households as part of our Local Housing Strategy, the city’s overarching strategy for housing and homelessness.
Màiri McAllan, the Housing Secretary, Scottish Government, said:
We are determined to end homelessness – and the best way to do this is to prevent homelessness in the first place. This investment in prevention pilots will help us test and scale up innovative approaches to help people stay in their homes.