Ricky Bell, set to become Glasgow's next SNP council leader, has called on First Minister John Swinney to help fund the city's housing costs for homeless refugees, arguing Glasgow is unfairly "carrying the burden for the whole of Scotland". His demand follows a warning from the Accounts Commission that Glasgow City Council's finances have reached a "critical" point, with a £110million budget gap over this year and next driven largely by rising homelessness spending and equal pay costs.

Homelessness spending is projected to rise from £38million last year to nearly £75million by 2027-28, a surge linked to Glasgow housing more asylum seekers than any other UK council area and taking in 58% of Scotland's total. Bell wants the Scottish Government either to change legislation or fund its consequences, and floated reinstating the local connection rule scrapped in 2022, plus handling housing needs regionally rather than concentrating them in Glasgow. Finance Secretary Jenny Gilruth has reportedly promised a "meaningful contribution", while Conservative and Reform politicians blamed SNP policy decisions for the crisis.