Ending Scotland’s Housing Emergency: Parties align on urgent action as Scotland heads to the polls

All six party candidates commit to retaining dedicated housing cabinet secretary and delivering more homes, as housing emergency dominates pre-election hustings

Candidates from across Scotland’s political parties came together in Edinburgh on Thursday 16 April to set out plans to tackle the country’s housing emergency, with a shared commitment to delivering more homes – across all tenures – and retaining the role of housing cabinet secretary emerging as common ground.

The hustings event, Ending Scotland’s Housing Emergency, was held at the Grassmarket Community Project and chaired by Vanessa Taaffe of ITV. It was co-hosted by CIH Scotland, Homes for Scotland, Homeless Network Scotland and Shelter Scotland, and took place weeks before the Scottish Parliament election on 7 May, at which housing is expected to be a defining issue.

Candidates in attendance were Miles Briggs (Conservative), Caitlin Stott (Labour), Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrat), Graham Simpson (Reform UK), Lorna Slater (Scottish Greens) and Paul McLennan (SNP).

All candidates recognised the urgent need to deliver more homes, with encouraging private investment and removing barriers to delivery emerging as shared priorities. While most were reluctant to commit to specific figures, there was broad consensus that the scale of housebuilding required demands action across all tenures.

There was also unanimous agreement across all parties that housing should retain its place as a cabinet secretary position in the next Scottish government – a commitment directly sought by CIH Scotland at the event.

CIH Scotland director Gillian McLees said: “It was encouraging to hear every candidate commit to retaining a dedicated housing cabinet secretary – a recognition that housing must remain a political priority at the highest level. Now we need that commitment to translate into real investment, real homes and real change for the people who need it most."

As recent statistics show housing starts and completions having fallen for the third consecutive year, Homes for Scotland has warned that, without urgent action from all parties, the housing emergency risks becoming a national catastrophe.

Homes for Scotland chief executive Jane Wood said: “Given the interdependencies between the delivery of private and affordable housing, it is essential that, whichever party forms the next Scottish Government, an all-tenure approach is taken to addressing the challenges hampering the construction of much-needed new homes. This must also include our planning system, as there simply isn’t enough land coming through to maintain a delivery pipeline that comes anywhere close to meeting Scotland’s housing needs.”

Homeless Network Scotland chief executive Maggie Brunjes added: “Homelessness is the harshest consequence of Scotland’s housing emergency. The next five years give the cabinet secretary a vital opportunity to deliver housing justice through more homes and properly joined up services linking housing, health, justice and social care. Coordinated, preventative support helps people faster, saves money long-term and ensures no one falls through the cracks. We urge every party to champion this approach.”