What assessment it has made of any link between its decision to end the local connection rule and the reported rise in homelessness present…

The changes to local connection legislation made in 2022 only suspended referrals of homeless households to another local authority in Scotland on the basis of local connection. It made no change to referrals for households with a local connection to a local authority in England or Wales, and the legislation did not change rules for refugee households who have left asylum accommodation.An increase in demand for homelessness services in Scotland from households with recent positive leave to remain decisions, including households travelling from other parts of the UK, are not the fault of refugees, who continue to be valuable members of our communities. Instead, pressures on housing and services have been driven by successive UK governments’ mismanagement of asylum policy, inadequate planning and a lack of financial assistance, which places people at risk of homelessness and destitution.