Thousands of Scots children homeless at Christmas

Data obtained under freedom of information shows that 10,695 children were left without a home on Christmas Day last year - an increase of more than 1000 on 2013.

There were warnings hat the situation will only worsen if the Scottish Government does not deliver its election promise to deliver 30,000 homes for social rent before the 2016 Holyrood election.

Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesman Jim Hume MSP said: "While there have been welcome decreases in some local authority areas, these figures show the appalling truth that thousands of people spent Christmas Day homeless over recent years.

"Many of them may have been placed in temporary accommodation, which is hardly a suitable way of tackling homelessness in the long-term.

"Children and adults in this country have the right to have a roof over their heads and no-one should have to spend a single day without a home.

"By backtracking on their manifesto pledge to build 6,000 homes each year for social rent, the SNP are failing these children and families who have nowhere else to go during the coldest months of the year."

The figures also show that 25,800 adults were homeless on Christmas Day last year.

Margaret Burgess, Minister for Housing and Welfare, said: “The overall number of homeless applications has fallen for six consecutive years, and we have already exceeded our target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes during this parliament, including 20,000 for social rent.

"Just last week, we announced an increase of £90 million of direct capital investment in affordable housing, to accelerate the affordable housing supply programme.

“In Scotland we’ve seen the overall number of children in temporary accommodation fall since 2007, but this is too important an area for complacency.

"I am in discussion with local authorities about the use of temporary accommodation for families with children and we are all committed to working together in the best interests of these households."