Scotland’s housing crisis has deepened as the number of children stuck living in temporary accommodation has reached a record high.
The “shameful” figures published by the Scottish Government today show 10,100 kids were staying with their families in B&Bs or hotels as of March 31 this year, an increase of five per cent on 2023.
Campaigners warned children were having to watch their parents heat up meals on radiators as they did not have access to a kitchen.
The total number of households living in temporary accommodation reached 16,330 in the same period, a rise of nine per cent in just one year.
The number of Scots who said they had slept rough the night before applying for help also rose from from 1,493 to 1,916.
It comes at a time the number of new homes built for social rent has plummeted by 25 per cent.
SNP ministers previously slashed almost £200 million from the affordable housing budget
“These figures show the Scottish homelessness system is under more pressure than ever before, with the number of people experiencing homelessness now at its highest since records began,” said Matt Downie of the Crisis housing charity.
“Councils are closing cases, but not as quickly as new applications are coming in – they’re working to end homelessness, but they’re not able to keep up with growing demand.
“Rising numbers of people sleeping on the streets, a record number of households trapped in temporary accommodation, and now more than 15,000 children growing up without knowing the safety and security of a settled home.
“The Scottish Government has made tackling child poverty its number one priority, but this can’t be achieved without stronger action on housing. It’s not right that, in modern-day Scotland, children are watching their parents heat up meals on radiators, because they are trapped in accommodation without access to cooking facilities.
“We need urgent action to stop more people from experiencing the trauma and indignity of homelessness.”
Shelter Scotland said the latest figures showed children are paying the biggest price for politician’s continued failure to get a grip of the housing emergency.
“Once again Scotland has broken unwelcome records, and the sad fact is that’s becoming the norm whenever these statistics are published,” said Alison Watson of the charity.
“It’s hard to escape the conclusion that we’re seeing homelessness by design – politicians know what needs to be done but have consistently failed to deliver”
“Today is a grim reminder of the reality of Scotland’s housing emergency – more and more children losing their homes every day, getting stuck in the homelessness system, trapped in miserable temporary accommodation for ever increasing lengths of time.”
Scottish Labour accused the SNP of letting a housing emergency engulf the country.
“These shameful figures are a damning indictment of the SNP’s record in government,” said Mark Griffin, Scottish Labour housing spokesman. “No amount of SNP spin and deflection can mask the fact that they let homelessness soar and left over 10,000 kids without a permanent home.
“Instead of dealing with the housing emergency taking grip in Scotland, the SNP fanned its flamed by slashing the affordable housing budget and letting housebuilding plummet.
“Scots cannot keep paying the price for the SNP’s catastrophic failures. We need urgent action to tackle this crisis and make sure every Scot has a safe and secure home to call their own, including a fair deal for local government and a plan to boost housebuilding.”
Paul McLennan, the Housing Minister, said: “These figures are deeply concerning and I know the lack of a settled home seriously affects people’s health and life chances.
“They demonstrate the scale of the challenge we face in tackling the housing emergency and I am determined to work with partners to reverse this trend.
“Working with representatives from across the housing sector is crucial. We have made record funding of more than £14 billion available to councils in 2024-25 to deliver a range of services, including in homelessness services, and we will continue to support councils to tackle the crisis.
“However, we must stop homelessness from happening in the first place and ensure affordable homes are available when people need them, we are taking action on both fronts.
“We have a strong track record in supporting the delivery of affordable homes with more than 133,000 homes completed since 2007, including more than 94,000 social rented homes.
“We will continue to build on that record with a total investment of almost £600 million in affordable housing this year.”
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