Scotland could end rough sleeping by Christmas if the SNP Government matches the scale of ambition shown by Labour on housing, according to the Daily Record's Record View column.
The call comes after Chancellor Healey announced a Budget that included a £432m addition to a package to provide emergency accommodation and practical support in England, taking total investment to £874m. This builds on a previously announced £442m package by Andy Burnham, who is determined to end rough sleeping.
Barnett consequentials for Scotland
Scotland is in line to receive millions in additional spending through Barnett consequentials as a result of the UK Government's investment. The Record View argues it is vitally important the SNP Government shows the same scale of ambition to ending homelessness and boosting the housing supply as shown by Burnham.
The column notes that rough sleeping was ended almost overnight when the coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020, and with the right commitment it could be eradicated across Scotland by Christmas.
Housing supply crisis
This could be an easy win for First Minister John Swinney when Holyrood sets its own spending plans in the coming weeks. However, turning around Scotland's collapsing housebuilding sector cannot be achieved in that time scale, but action is urgently needed.
This week, it was reported that just 18,028 new homes were added to the country's housing stock between April 2025 and March of this year – an eight per cent drop from the previous year. This comes at a time of a worsening homelessness crisis in Scotland's biggest cities.
Need for incentives
There is no easy fix to the country's housing emergency, but increasing the supply of properties of all kinds is a must. There has been a reluctance at senior levels in the SNP to sit down with housebuilders and offer them the incentives needed to build more, and the column argues that cannot continue.
Swinney must match Burnham's ambition, the Record View concludes.
