End homelessness in Scotland by 2040
Last updated: 10.10.2025
7 May 2026 will see the seventh Scottish Parliament elections in the devolution era take place. Political parties everywhere tend to work in four, or five, year cycles – making pledges, commitments and promises to deliver on work that will last for up to five years. There are some exceptions to this, but the reason they do this is because there is always another election coming up.
At this election, we are asking political parties to do something different and to unite around a core purpose – of not just tackling homelessness in Scotland but crucially ending all forms of homelessness, and for good. To not think about just the next five years, but how to deliver a Scotland free from homelessness by 2040 – and use the next three parliamentary terms to make that happen. And finally, to ensure this goal in law, so that it stands the test of time.
The last Scottish Parliament election took place as the final COVID lockdown was being lifted. Looking back at that time, some people highlight the good work done in practically eradicating rough sleeping. This was only temporary though – as we see from the most recent annual homelessness statistics, which show thousands of people in Scotland experiencing rough sleeping last year. That’s because the COVID response was, by necessity, an emergency response. It was not delivered with long term viability in mind, and the infrastructure was not in place to see those gains sustained.
The lessons of COVID must be learned. We are not in that emergency response situation any longer and therefore we can plan and execute long term, sustainable responses to ensure that we do not stumble into subsequent, or repeat, emergencies.
That is why we are asking all political parties to unite around the goal to end homelessness by 2040 and enshrine it in law. That will tie three successive governments, regardless of who forms them, to implementing the changes needed to ensure this happens because all parties will have signed up to it. They will therefore all be responsible for the delivery regardless of who is in government.
Homelessness cannot be used as a political football. Behind every number is a person, is a life. So, we are calling on Scotland’s political parties to find common cause and demonstrate the collective political will necessary to achieve the change that we all want to see. And we are calling on our supporters to ask their political candidates to rise to that challenge because the time for action is now. The time to commit to end all forms of homelessness, is now.
