New YouGov research commissioned by Shelter Scotland reveals that 58% of adults believe ministers should be doing more to address child homelessness, compared to 16% who feel current efforts are sufficient. This follows September’s commitment by the First Minister to end unsuitable temporary homeless accommodation for children.

The research is published after families impacted by homelessness, Shelter Scotland and Fife Gingerbread met with cabinet secretary for social justice and housing, Shirley-Anne Somerville, at the Scottish Parliament.

As part of the project, Building Hope: A Home for Every Child, Shelter Scotland and Fife Gingerbread delivered a comprehensive route map to the cabinet secretary. It lays out exactly what the government must do to prevent children going into temporary homeless accommodation, reduce the amount of time spent there and ensure housing rights are upheld.

Gordon Llewellyn-MacRae, interim director at Shelter Scotland, said: “The families at the heart of the housing emergency are not alone in their fight. We stand with them and today’s research shows that the public strongly backs the need for more action.

“A clear majority want more to be done to tackle the number of children living without a home. This should be a stark warning to the government that despite many pledges, they aren’t cutting through and meaningful change has yet to be felt across Scotland. They must do more for the thousands of families stuck in limbo, not knowing when or where they’ll move next. That’s children with nowhere to do homework or play and no chance to thrive.

“It’s a positive step that the cabinet secretary met with families to hear about the impact of living in harmful environments. The government must now build on this with action and real change. If ministers are serious about ending child poverty, they must end child homelessness too and this route map sets out exactly what the government must do.

“Homelessness is not inevitable – ending it means building more social homes, more quickly. If the government acts on this route map, they can lift thousands of children out of unsafe and harmful environments and give them and their families a real chance to thrive.”

Laura Millar, CEO of Fife Gingerbread, said: “Every child deserves a safe place to call home where they can flourish. At Fife Gingerbread, we have walked alongside families experiencing homelessness and see the enormous impact this has on the health, wellbeing and happiness of children and young people.

“The families who shaped this route map have shared their experiences with courage and honesty. They deserve to see that courage met with action. A secure home is not a privilege; it is a right. We now need collective action at the pace and scale this crisis demands.”