Next Scottish Parliament urged to be ‘much more ambitious’ on homelessness

The next Scottish Parliament must be “much more ambitious” in tackling homelessness and should “act quickly” to end rough sleeping, campaigners have insisted.

The charity Crisis Scotland made the plea after the leaders of all the country’s major political parties agreed that all forms of homelessness need to be ended.

It also wants a “clear road map” to be drawn up after the election to make sure that by 2040 “no one in Scotland experiences the trauma of homelessness”.

The call for action comes after a survey by Ipsos, commissioned by Crisis Scotland found that a quarter of Scots have either experienced a form of homelessness themselves or know someone close to them who has.

Seven out of 10 people (70%) are concerned about the scale of homelessness in Scotland, the poll found, with the same number of people agreeing that ending homelessness should be a national priority.

Meanwhile, the latest Scottish Government figures showed that, at the end of September 2025, there were 18,092 households, including 10,480 children, in temporary accommodation, with these the highest totals since 2002.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told the homeless charity that the rise in the use of temporary accommodation is “scandalous”.

His comments came as Crisis released a series of recorded interviews with the leaders of the six largest political parties ahead of the May 7 Scottish election.

Asked what one word he associated with homelessness, SNP leader John Swinney said “fear”, while Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said “preventable”.

Alex Cole-Hamilton of the Scottish Liberal Democrats said it was a “moral outrage”, while Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay highlighted the “unfairness” of the system and Reform UK’s Scottish leader Malcolm Offord spoke of his “sadness” at the plight of those who find themselves without a home.

Maeve McGoldrick, head of policy and communication at Crisis Scotland, said the organisation welcomed the agreement from all leaders on the need to tackle the problem, saying this showed “that there is a will from all sides to end homelessness for good, and that it is, in fact, achievable”.

Ms McGoldrick added however: “Words alone are not enough.

“The next parliament must be much more ambitious and act quickly to end rough sleeping, while significantly ramping up early action support to ensure no one in Scotland experiences the trauma of homelessness.

“Crisis Scotland is calling on the next government to develop a clear roadmap, backed by sustained funding and cross-party collaboration, to make this a reality by 2040.”