The SNP has been accused of failing to tackle Scotland’s homeles crisis, with oppoisition parties warning that Scotland is facing an “impending catastrophe”.
A new report from Heriot-Watt University showed that around 18,400 households in Scotland were homeless in 2022.
The report predicted that the total would increase by 6,100 by 2026. The core homelessness figure has increased by 11 per cent since 2020.
Mark Griffin, the Scottish Labour housing spokesperson, criticised the SNP for “insisting there is no housing emergency”.
He said: “This damning report lays bare the impending catastrophe Scotland is facing.
“Homelessness is already at record levels, and without action it will soar by a third – but the SNP and the Greens insist there is no housing emergency.”
Meanwhile, the Scottish Conservative shadow housing secretary Miles Briggs urged the Scottish Government to declare a “national housing emergency”.
He said: “”Scotland is in the grip of a housing emergency, yet the SNP are bystanders as homelessness soars and more and more people become trapped in temporary accommodation.
“The SNP have refused to prioritise housing and failed to meet their own housebuilding targets, despite the desperate shortage of homes.
“Thousands of vulnerable people have been left languishing in temporary accommodation – including thousands of children – due to the SNP starving local councils of essential funding to tackle the spiralling problem of homelessness.
“Glasgow, Edinburgh and Argyll and Bute have already declared housing emergencies.
“Too many lives have already been lost due to homelessness.
“We need urgent action from the SNP Government before this crisis deepens – starting with them declaring a national housing emergency.”
Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said the Scottish Government could “stop that future from becoming reality” by putting money into homelessness services, suggesting the SNP is “stting back and watching”.
He said: “The risk of a significant rise in homelessness over the coming years should worry us all.
“We can’t just sit back and watch as more people are forced onto the streets, to sleep in cars or garages, or spent months or years trapped in emergency accommodation that just isn’t fit for their basic needs.
“It doesn’t need to be that way. Scotland has proven good policy can make a difference in the past, and it can do it again.”
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But SNP Housing Minister Paul McLennan said the government has “already committed to many of these measures in our homelessness strategy.”
He added: “The UK Government should heed the calls from Crisis to increase Housing Benefit and other working age benefits.
“It is also concerning that another Local Housing Allowance freeze is on the horizon.”
