Scottish Welfare Fund Budget Update 

The Scottish Government has published an update to the Scottish Welfare Fund statistics. Local authorities have been allocated £41 million for fund awards in 2025–26, with an estimated £10 million in unspent funds carried forward from the previous period. 

Glasgow’s Temporary Accommodation Costs Treble 

Glasgow City Council spent nearly £70 million on hotels and B&B accommodation for people in a housing crisis in 2025–26. The majority of those housed are refugees, reflecting Glasgow’s role as one of the largest asylum dispersal areas outside London.  

Edinburgh Approves £15.5 Million Contract for Homeless Accommodation 

Edinburgh councillors have approved a temporary accommodation contract valued at up to £15.5 million, reopening the council’s Supported Lodgings procurement category and bringing 14 suppliers on board to provide additional on-site support for homeless people, including young people and care leavers. The contract will run for up to eight years, with an estimated annual value of £1.936 million. 

Harriet Gardens Homeless Village Opens in South Lanarkshire 

Scotland’s newest homelessness village, Harriet Gardens, has officially opened in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire  a £3 million supported living community developed by Social Bite in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council, and managed day-to-day by the Salvation Army. The village comprises 15 modular Nest Houses alongside a community hub offering shared facilities, therapeutic support, and spaces for group activities.  

Lancashire Nurse Buys Homes for Homeless People 

Tony Norman, a nurse from Lancashire, is raising funds to purchase properties to house homeless individuals who struggle to secure private rentals due to a lack of references or deposits. The Street Homeless Blackpool initiative aims to create safe spaces and help people build a tenancy history, with rents covered by housing benefit. 

Growing Workforce at Social Security Scotland 

Social Security Scotland is one of the fastest-growing public sector employers in Scotland, now employing over 4,000 staff to administer the rising cost of devolved benefits. Separately, Mphasis has been awarded a £35.4 million contract to provide support and maintenance for the agency’s core Social Programme Management benefits platform and associated batch processing 

Financial Difficulties for Charities: MND Scotland 

Scottish health charity MND Scotland is facing serious financial difficulties, reporting a deficit of over £800,000 for the year ending March 2025. This follows an earlier deficit of £3.5 million, which has led to reserves being halved and forced a restructuring of operations