Item 9 - Housing Emergency Declaration Action Plan Update
West Dunbartonshire Council · 12 August 2026
Back to Housing & Communities Committee — 12 August 2026 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by the Chief Officer, Housing Housing and Communities Committee: 12 August 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: West Dunbartonshire Housing Emergency Declaration Action Plan 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide members with an update on the Housing Emergency Declaration Action Plan (HEDAP). 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Housing and Communities Committee: (i) Note the progress to date and the implementation of the key actions of the Housing Emergency Action Plan. (ii) Note that a review of the Council’s Allocations Policy has been undertaken and is subject to a separate report to this Committee, as referenced in section 4.8; (iii) Note the proposed 12-month pilot to permit the allocation of selected two- bedroom properties to households assessed as requiring one-bedroom accommodation, where this supports the allocation of homes to applicants with the highest assessed housing need, as set out in section 4.9; (iv) Note updates on the Scottish Government response to the national emergency in sections 4.13 – 4.18 of this report and what it means for West Dunbartonshire Council’s Housing and Homelessness Services, and (v) Agree that the Chief Officer, Housing will continue to provide update reports to future meetings of the Housing and Communities. 3. Background 3.1 On the 1 May 2024 Housing and Communities Committee agreed to declare a Housing Emergency in West Dunbartonshire due to extreme and unprecedented pressures facing housing and homelessness services in WDC. 3.2 This was despite positive achievements across Housing to help manage the acute housing need in West Dunbartonshire including the following: • 262 households prevented from experiencing homelessness, • Progress in reducing the number of empty homes (council voids); and ITEM 9
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• The construction of new council homes at the following development sites Clydebank East, Mount Pleasant, Pappert and Gilmour Avenue. 3.3 Despite this, housing demand increased and the following metrics highlighted the pressures on Housing and Homelessness within West Dunbartonshire prior to the housing emergency declaration. 3.4 As reported previously to the Housing and Communities Committee, the Council had been unable to fulfil all our statutory duties under homelessness legislation and has incurred sixty-eight breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order (UAO) following 274 households being placed in Bed & Breakfast Accommodation during 2023/24. 3.5 The increased supply of new social homes is the key element to help address the demand pressures, The funding cut to the wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme of around 24% in 2024/25, significantly contributed to the Housing Emergency Declaration. 3.6 West Dunbartonshire Council was the fifth local authority to declare a housing emergency following declarations made in Argyll and Bute, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Fife. Since the West Dunbartonshire declaration, a further eight local authorities have followed suit and made a housing emergency declaration (South Lanarkshire, West Lothian, Angus, Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Aberdeen, East Renfrewshire and East Lothian). Dundee have been the 14th to Declare an emergency in March 2026 taking the total of fourteen out of thirty-two local authorities, including four of the six housing stock transfer authorities. 3.7 Significantly on the 15 May 2024, the Scottish Government declared a National Housing Emergency in the Scottish Parliament. They launched their action plan in September 2025. 3.8 Below details the progress with figures which were the baseline which contributed to the declaration of the Emergency and the current picture at 2025/26. 3.8 The table below provides a snapshot of the current waiting list, including applicants with no assessed housing priority or points. This context is 2023/24 2025/26 Waiting List Numbers 5000 4000 No. of households in Temporary Accommodation 274 245 Households in Temporary accommodation inc children 89 84 Breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order 68 43 No placements in Bed & Breakfast 274 174 Number of homeless applications 1100 1049
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important in considering how available housing can be best targeted towards households with the greatest assessed need. 4. Main Issues 4.1 The action plan has four main themes they are as follows: • Theme 1. Deliver and maintain More Homes - West Dunbartonshire approach to the delivery of affordable housing, • Theme 2. Make Best Use of Existing Stock, • Theme 3. Enhancing Housing Access and the prevention of homelessness, and • Theme 4. Strengthen the Financial viability and capacity of the Housing Revenue Account and associated Housing and Homelessness budgets. 4.2 The Housing Emergency Project Board (HEPB) continues to meet monthly basis since the housing emergency declaration led by the Chief Officer, Housing. The HEPB agreed further progress will be made via existing governance arrangements such as Housing Improvement Board, More Homes Project Board and Better Homes Project Board and reported to the overarching Housing Emergency Project Board. 4.3 The first Housing Summit of key Housing and Community Planning stakeholders was organised in February 2025. A second and successful Housing Summit was held on 2 February 2026 with over 60 attendees from every West Dunbartonshire Registered Social Landlord, Health and Social Care colleagues, Community Planning Partners, Tenant Leaders, Third Sector and Elected Members. Positive conversations took place on further collaborative actions and discussions for the coming year. The project board held in March have agreed to add an additional three actions to the plan from the summit. • Explore options to share services with Housing Associations to increase new supply; • Review processes and protocols between HSCP and landlords to expand joint working for more vulnerable tenants; • Explore additional actions to improve access to the private rented sector. Total Number of applicants with no housing need General 2818 721 Transfer 1045 377
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4.4 With the new actions there are now a total of 71 actions within the plan. Of which 37 are now fully complete with another 18 actions more than 50% complete. 4.5 A full progress report is available as a background paper and is summarised in detail below against the four key themes: - Deliver and maintain More Homes - West Dunbartonshire approach to the delivery of affordable housing 4.6 The Housing and Communities Committee Convenor wrote to the housing minister requesting the reinstatement of the funding cut to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme funding. Our funding for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme has been reinstated. The Council supported by tenant prioritisation has continued to deliver much needed new homes. In 2026/27 we have completed 28 new builds so far. The delivery of these new homes is supported by The Council’s buyback scheme targeting housing need in West Dunbartonshire with a particular focus on larger family homes, 10 buybacks completed so far in 2026/27, two being 5 apartments. The planning review is now at national level which West Dunbartonshire Council fed into and welcome the outcome. We anticipate further updates after the summer recess. Make Best Use of Existing Stock 4.7 There continue to be a focus and progress on voids, despite an initial increase again in 2026/27, they are now back below 130. The repairs policy continues to be monitored since its rollout in April 2025 which continues to see a reduction in times to complete repairs. Continued progress on our review of supported accommodation including productive conversations with Health and Social Care Partners (HSCP). We are continuing with our campaign drive along with additional actions to help promote and maximise the use of Homeswapper (mutual exchange scheme) to further meet housing need. We are still awaiting agreement from our RSL partners on the new downsizing scheme. The updated empty homes strategy has brought 10 homes back into use so far in 2026/27, one of which have brought back into use as council homes. Our damp and mould sensor project continues to roll out across our housing stock with at least a third of the stock now having a sensor. The review of our leased properties has been completed and some of the actions from the review are beginning to be taken forward. 4.8 A review of our allocation policy has also been carried out ensuring we make best use of our stock, the changes to help ensure this is detailed in a separate committee report being discussed today. 4.9 Demand for one-bedroom properties significantly exceeds the available supply and has been identified as a key pressure within the housing allocation system, contributing to the current housing emergency. By comparison, the availability of two-bedroom properties is more favourable. To mitigate this pressure, it is proposed that a 12-month pilot be introduced permitting the allocation of certain two-bedroom properties to households with a one-bedroom requirement. Appendix 2 in the Allocations Policy paper provides detailed analysis of
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demand, availability and supply across both property types. This proposal seeks to maximise housing opportunities for applicants with the highest assessed need, reduce waiting times and allocation pressures, and support more sustainable tenancies by allowing households some capacity to accommodate future changes in household composition. Enhancing Housing Access and the prevention of homelessness 4.10 Continued monitoring of the refreshed approach to assist with preventing negative housing situations including a refreshed housing pathway for WDC tenants who flee domestic violence. Our No Homes for Domestic Abuse is being reviewed with new legislation due to be enacted between April and August 2026. Year 2 actions of the new Housing Solutions Strategy will be taken forward with a focus on a single access to housing approach and preparation for the new Ask and Act duties that should increase prevention activity. The transfer led allocations approach for new builds continues to be implemented and the outcomes are in the More Homes paper. An overhaul of our webpages has been agreed and is being taken forward in 2026/27 to continue to tackle homelessness stigma but also to enable more informed choices. The shared common online housing application form was launched in October 2025. There are ongoing conversations about possible next stages hopefully leading to a West Dunbartonshire Common Housing Register. Strengthen the Financial viability and capacity of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and associated Housing and Homelessness budgets 4.11 Several actions continue to be taken forward through the Housing Emergency Project Board and the HRA Value for Money group which continues to meet on a weekly basis to help strengthen the financial health of the Housing Revenue Account. Council Officers are also continuing to be part of a national conversation with the Scottish Government, COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) and ALACHO (Association of Chief Housing Officers) to investigate the possibility of HRA debt relief to enable local authorities to build or acquire additional social rented homes. A decision on this continues to be outstanding from the United Kingdom Government. The review of building services is now complete which ensured value for money for the service and tenants. 4.12 Key performance indicators continue to be monitored to help show the progress made through the action plan which will signify an end to the current emergency declaration. Scottish Governments Response to National Housing Emergency 4.13 The Cabinet Secretary for Housing announced the Scottish Government’s response to the national housing emergency declaration in May 2024 to the Scottish Parliament in September 2025, the response in the form of an action plan has three key pillars to meet the required objectives: 1. Ending children living in unsuitable accommodation
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2. Supporting the housing needs of vulnerable communities 3. Building our future - maximising investment in Scotland’s housing sector 4.14 For the full list action plan and details can be found here. Since the launch of the plan progress has been made and funds distributed. 4.15 As reported at previous committees we received an additional £310,000 for acquisitions and £25,863 of Rapid Rehousing Transition Funds for Housing First and £92,137 capital funds for extending Housing First tenancies. All monies were spent in 2025/26. No further additional funds have been announced for 2026/27. 4.16 The First Minister announced the creation of “More Homes Scotland” in January, a new executive agency that will work to accelerate new house building, with the intention that it will be up and running by 2027/28. The then Cabinet Secretary for Housing announced the Blueprint on 26 March 2026 stating four core principles; 1. Greater use of land assembly and preparation powers 2. Enhanced support for planning and development delivery 3. Standardisation and simplified commissioning 4. Flexible funding to drive economic growth 4.17 A meeting with the Scottish Government’s Housing Emergency Division was held in March 2026 to discuss our plans and received positive feedback regarding our approach to the Housing Emergency and our actions and progress made so far. 4.18 Since the previous Committee meeting, an election has resulted in changes to the Scottish Government. Responsibility for housing now sits with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing, Shirley-Anne Somerville, rather than with a standalone Housing Minister. Initial engagement with the Cabinet Secretary indicates an expectation that all local authorities which have declared housing emergencies will develop and present route maps outlining the actions being taken to address these issues, with a particular focus on interventions that extend beyond normal practice and contribute to resolving the emergencies. 5. People Implications 5.1 Some of the actions involved are additional and not within current remits and therefore may lead to additional staffing resources. The new legislative duties also may require additional staffing resources. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 The Housing Emergency Action Plan (HEAP) will need to be considered within the context existing resources available to West Dunbartonshire Council across both the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA). There is
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currently no additional Grant or Subsidy funding available to Councils because of declaring a Housing Emergency. 6.2 The Housing Emergency Project Board will consider how existing resources can be utilised to ensure delivery of the HEAP. This will include a review of Core Budgets and any Temporary Funding Sources which may be utilised. 6.3 The additional allocation to West Dunbartonshire Council of acquisition funding of £310k was drawn down from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme funding for 2025/26, the allocation will further support the Council’s buyback scheme and will focus on moving children out of a homeless environment into permanent accommodation. 6.4 Housing supply continues to be the key factor in terms of the national and local housing emergencies and if not increased and demand reduced it will lead to continued pressures on temporary accommodation and ultimately Bed & breakfast use which has negative financial implications for the Council’s general fund. 6.5 There are no procurement implications to note. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 Regular breaches of statutory homelessness duties partly triggered the declaration of the Housing Emergency, and it is highly probable these will continue without focussed, cross Council and Partnership action led through the Housing Emergency Project Board. 7.2 The Council is also likely to experience significant legal, regulatory, and reputational risk due to shortages of housing supply and related services. Mitigation of these risks are included within the HEDAP, and these will be managed through the Housing Emergency Project Board. 7.3 There continued to be an increase in Bed & breakfast use from 5 in Q1 to a total of 147 in total and a total of 43 breaches. This is due to increase demands and bottlenecks around needs for 1- and 4-bedroom properties. Reinforcing our need for a new build programme to build to match our needs. 8 Environmental Sustainability 8.1 The delivery of new homes is within the approved More Homes zero carbon approach. Our current and future approach to strategic housing asset management will continue to prioritise a ‘zero carbon’ approach to decision making and deliverability and this will be done the aims of the Housing Asset Management Strategy and the Council’s Climate Change Strategy. 9. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 9.1 An EIA has been carried out and there are no negative equalities impacts due to this update. A separate EIA screening will be conducted for any policy changes because of the implementation of the HEDAP. 10. Consultation
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10.1 The Housing Emergency Declaration Action Plan (HEDAP) was consulted with a range of key stakeholders including the West Dunbartonshire Tenants and Residents Organisation. The implementation of the HEDAP is predicated on a consultative and collaborative focus and several key stakeholders are represented on the Housing Emergency Project Board. 10.2 Consultation continues with our stakeholders via our Housing Summits which has resulted in additional actions being added to our action plan. 11. Strategic Assessment 11.1 Having considered the Council's strategic priorities, this report contributes significantly to all strategic priorities. • Our Communities - Resilient and Thriving • Our Environment - A Greener Future • Our Economy - Strong and Flourishing • Our Council - Inclusive & Adaptable Peter Barry Chief Officer, Housing and Employability Date: 30 July 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Person/s to Contact: John Kerr – Housing Development and Homelessness Manager, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability, telephone: 07793717981, email: john.kerr@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Claire McKay – Housing Development Co-ordinator, Housing Development and Homelessness Team, Housing and Employability, email: Claire.Mckay@west- dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: None Background Papers: Housing Emergency Action Plan, July 2026 Housing Emergency Declaration, Housing and Communities Committee, May 2024 Housing Emergency Update, Housing and Communities Committee, May 2026 Tackling Scotland’s Housing Emergency, Scottish Government, September 2025 Supporting documents - Tackling Scotland's Housing Emergency - gov. scot Wards Affected: All