A SHOCKING video has been shared showing a number of people sleeping rough on the doorstep of the City of Edinburgh Council’s administrative headquarters.
The video, taken outside the council building on East Market Street by Waverley station, shows many homeless people forced to take shelter on the outskirts of the building.
This is amid the current Scottish housing crisis, as last year Edinburgh had the most open homelessness cases in the whole of Scotland.
The headquarters are also less than 200 yards away from the UK Government hub, Queen Elizabeth House on Sibbald Walk.
Yesterday, a social media user shared a video showing multiple people sleeping underneath an overhang on the council building.
They said: “Half a dozen people sleeping rough just metres away from the British government hub in Edinburgh.
“Scotland’s shame.”
And went on: “You wonder what the civil servants think who pass them every day on their way to work.”
One user replied: “Walked past this building a while ago and there is quite a heat that comes up through those metal vents.
“Thought this might happen. A sad sight.”
Just last month, Shelter Scotland shared that there are more children housed in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh than the whole of Wales – at 3,600 as of last November.
The same is true for Glasgow, where 3,503 children were in temporary accommodation as of February 2025.
When approving their budget for the upcoming financial year, council leader Jane Meagher said: “We’re also doing more to tackle Edinburgh’s housing and homelessness emergencies, while investing in our communities and the vital council and third sector services they rely upon.”
£50m is set to be invested in purchasing and building suitable temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.
Some of this accommodation, however, has been described in a recent report as having “infestations” of rats and moths, as well as high levels of “damp and mould”.