What action it taking to address homelessness (a) in Edinburgh and (b) nationally.

(a) Local authorities have the statutory duty for homelessness in Scotland and as such it is for City of Edinburgh Council to make decisions on activity to address homelessness in its area, taking account of local context and priorities.
(b) More broadly, with strong statutory rights to housing for homeless households, we are focusing with local authorities and partners on preventing homelessness before it occurs. We are continuing to fund five local authority led Housing Options Hubs across Scotland to promote prevention activity. This approach will be strengthened further with the development of a housing options training toolkit for local authority officers enabling a consistency of the housing options approach across Scotland.
The national focus has been through the Scottish Government and COSLA’s Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group. Its membership involves a range of stakeholders at a national level who meet to develop policy and promote practice in tackling and preventing homelessness and rough sleeping. The Group’s priorities include working to address homelessness for people with more complex needs, including those who may be sleeping rough, which involves working with partners such as health and the development of approaches such as Housing First. We are in the process of refreshing this high level strategic homelessness group, which is expected to be re-launched in the autumn.
To help expand the accommodation options for those experiencing homelessness the Scottish Government has committed to delivering at least 50,000 affordable homes over the lifetime of this current Parliament.