The conference, which is being held by Shelter Scotland to mark the halfway point to the 2012 target, will hear from Minister for Communities Stewart Maxwell and Archie Stoddart, the charity's director.

Maxwell is expected to outline the Scottish Government’s commitment to the target and legislative plans for the coming years to help provide equal rights to accommodation for all homeless people in Scotland.

He is expected to say: "I want to make it clear that the new Scottish Government is committed to the 2012 target. 

"I believe increasing the supply of homes that are affordable – across all tenures - is one of the most important things we can do to prevent homelessness.

"That's why I've already set up the Housing Supply Task Force, which has a remit to tackle obstacles such as land supply and planning issues which are currently preventing the building of sufficient new housing to cater for growing need."

He is expected to announce that the Government will also be launching a wide-ranging consultation to establish what the most pressing issues in relation to housing and homelessness are.
 
He will continue: "With a tight Spending Review upcoming, it is clear that there won't be easy answers. No Government can simply turn on housing supply like a tap and we must operate within the constraints of our budget.

"But that doesn't mean we should be pessimistic. I think there is a great deal we can do to get more for our money and build more efficiently. With the right will on the part of all the relevant partners – including local authorities, housing providers and the construction industry - I know that it is possible to make more housing, of all types, a reality."

Stoddart will also tell the conference that increasing the supply of affordable rented homes is the “lynchpin” for meeting the homelessness target. Under Scottish legislation, by 2012 all unintentionally homeless people should have access to a permanent home.

He will say: "Scotland led the way in the UK by banning smoking in public places - but we are leading the way in Europe with the most progressive homelessness legislation. The Scottish Government has set a target to ensure that every homeless person has the right to a home by 2012. We've even had France looking towards Scotland when shaping its own homelessness programme earlier this year.

"But the 2012 homelessness target is one of the biggest challenges faced by Scotland since devolution. We have five years to meet the 2012 target and the majority of local authorities in Scotland are working towards doing that. However, without significant investment in affordable rented housing, we will put the target under threat. Increasing the supply of affordable rented housing in Scotland is the lynchpin to meeting 2012.

“But it is not the only tool in the box - we must continue to concentrate on other ways of improving supply, like reviewing the Right to Buy policy, bringing empty homes back in use, as well as improving access to temporary accommodation by using the private rented sector and schemes like private sector leasing. We should also continue to look at ways we can stop people becoming homeless in the first place, like ensuring housing benefit is paid on time."