SCOTTISH Labour has called for “missing in action” SNP housing minister Paul McLennan to resign amid soaring homelessness and a “rough-sleeping emergency.”

The call came after the Scottish government’s own figures revealed that in just three years there had been a staggering 72 per cent rise in the number of households forced to sleep on the streets the night before submitting a formal homeless application.

According to the data, 366 households making an application between July and September 2021 reported sleeping rough the night before, a figure that had rocketed to 631 between July and September 2024.

The number of households that have been forced to sleep on the streets in the three months before an application for homelessness support rose from 593 to 939 over the same three-year period, a rise of over 58 per cent.

The figures come just days after Mr McLennan faced calls to resign following shocking statistics which showed 10,360 children across 16,634 household were growing up in temporary accommodation including hostels and B&B in Scotland in 2024 — the highest since records began in 2002.

Scottish councils meanwhile saw the number of times they failed in their statutory duties towards homeless rocket from 2,000 in 2023 to 7,545 in 2024, as they struggle to meet soaring demand. 

Labour housing spokesperson Mark Griffin said: “There is a rough sleeping emergency unfolding in Scotland but the SNP has been missing in action.

“Behind every single one of these figures is a person suffering the most painful consequences of the SNP’s housing emergency.

“Far from acting to tackle the housing emergency, the SNP worsened it with cuts to affordable housing and local government.”

He added: “Paul McLennan has failed as housing minister and he cannot stay in the job.

“John Swinney must step up and set out a real plan to deal with this scandal — starting by getting rid of Paul McLennan.”

Mr McLennan hit back: “The draft Budget will provide record funding of more than £15 billion to councils.

“That will help to deliver a range of services such as homelessness prevention programmes.

“An additional £4 million will also be made available to support local authorities and front-line services to pilot and scale up homelessness prevention best practice across Scotland.

“We have a plan to tackle rough sleeping.

“Labour should stop sitting on its hands and vote to support the Budget that delivers the cash to back it up.”