17,000 Scottish children homeless last Christmas as call to action demanded

Figures obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats show that on Christmas Day last year, there were 30,557 live homelessness applications, covering 35,361 adults and 17,002 children - an overall increase of more than 2,000 applications from the previous year.

In May, the Scottish Parliament declared a nationwide housing emergency following similar declarations from a number of local councils.

Read more: Shelter urges Swinney to step in amid Edinburgh unlawful homelessness rights row

The Scottish Government said it is boosting the supply of affordable housing and aiming to reduce the need for families to stay in temporary accommodation.

Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson, Paul McGarry, was himself homeless at the age of 16.

He said: “At Christmas time, most of us can count on a secure roof over our heads, but tens of thousands of Scots are not so fortunate.

“A lack of availability, skyrocketing prices and poor-quality housing has made life miserable for so many. The SNP have compounded those problems by previously slashing the housing budget by a quarter and failing to build the thousands of homes promised for social rent.”

Ewan Aitken, chief executive of Cyrenians, said: “Homelessness is often predictable and that means it’s preventable.

“Charities like us can see the number of homeless people who need support this Christmas is even higher but there is nothing inevitable about these spiralling numbers.

“We need to see a focussed and sustained effort to get people who are vulnerable the right support at the right time to stop them reaching crisis point. 2024 must be the year these dreadful numbers peak. In 2025 we must get on top of the housing emergency for good.”

Read more: This Christmas, you can help ensure homeless hospital patients aren't discharged onto Edinburgh's streets

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have a strong track record in affordable housing, having supported the delivery of 135,000 affordable homes since 2007. That’s 47 per cent more per head of population than England and 73 per cent more than Wales.

“We want to ramp up that delivery by increasing the affordable housing supply budget to £768 million next year. This investment will help tackle the housing emergency while contributing towards our target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.”

Donate to Cyrenians’ winter campaign here or by using the QR code above.