Govan Law Centre (GLC) is delighted to be working as part of the Hospital Homelessness Prevention Partnership (HHPP) – one of 15 pilot projects across Scotland funded by the Scottish Government during 2026 – to test new models for preventing homelessness in advance of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 (2025 Act) being brought into force.
Section 52 of the 2025 Act inserts new sections 36A and 36B to the 1987 Housing (Scotland) Act to create a new “Ask and Act” duty on relevant bodies in relation to persons who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
The HHPP is a partnership project between the Marie Trust (TMT), NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and GLC. The pilot project will embed Ask and Act duties directly into acute mental health hospitals across Glasgow by situating a dedicated Marie Trust caseworker and Govan Law Centre solicitor within the following hospitals to test how early intervention can prevent homelessness for patients identified as at risk through advocacy and representation prior to discharge at:
- Levendale Hospital
- Gartnavel Royal Hospital
- Brownlee Centre
- Stobhill Hospital, including Rowanbank Forensic Mental Health Unit
Building on TMT’s award-winning Hospital Outreach Service, the new partnership will strengthen crisis intervention to prevention, responding earlier working within NHS Mental Health sites to test the pilot with a patient group who experience multiple barriers (institutionalisation, cognitive and learning challenges, poor life skills including access to digital, low motivation) in being able to accessing housing applications, bid for homes and where they are at higher risk homelessness and poorer housing.
“GLC as a law centre has worked for over 30 years with the most vulnerable in our society. Patients in hospitals awaiting discharge to unknown situations are some of our most vulnerable members of our communities. We will ensure that those being discharged from hospital avoid homelessness and will make sure they have stability and the right support in place”.
Lyndsay McBride, Trainee Solicitor at Govanhill Law Centre
The issue of delays in hospital discharges was the subject of a detailed report from Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission on 8 January 2026. The report found that almost 18,000 people experienced delayed discharges in 2024/25, and provided recommendations to the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and other health bodies on how to address the issue. People medically ready to leave hospital spent 720,000 unnecessary days in hospital in 2024/25. Whilst the full financial impact is unknown, the cost to the NHS in hospital days alone is an estimated £440 million a year.
