Record high homelessness on SNP’s watch

Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Morven-May MacCallum MSP has today said that the SNP are “failing vulnerable people across the country” as new figures revealed that homelessness has increased to record levels, including the numbers of children and households in temporary accommodation.

New figures show that:

• There were 41,443 homelessness applications in 2025-26- the highest since 2011-12.
• There were 34,965 open homelessness applications as at the end of March 2026- the highest on record
• 19,004 households were in temporary accommodation as at the end of March 2026- the highest on record and almost double the pre-pandemic level of 11,807 in 2019/20.
• There were 10,715 children in temporary accommodation- the highest on record.
• The number of households reporting rough sleeping the night before an application has increased to its highest level since 2008/09.

Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Morven-May MacCallum MSP said:

“These figures are abominable. They are a worrying sign that the SNP government is failing vulnerable people across Scotland.

“Across a range of measures, levels of homelessness are now at their worst ever. The Scottish Government need to start using the many powers at their disposal to change things.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats laid out big plans in our manifesto to fix the housing crisis and tackle homelessness. That begins with replacing the SNP’s failing national housing strategy with one that recognises the starkness of the challenges we face.

“We also need to see serious efforts to address the root causes of homelessness, boosting support for those dealing with circumstances like mental ill-health, drug misuse and care experience.”