Election 2019: Scottish Labour blame 'cuts and indifference' for homelessness

Party leader Richard Leonard said "Tory cuts and SNP indifference" have led to a rise in homeless applications.

Scottish Labour has said there is a "systematic failure" to address homelessness in Scotland.

Party leader Richard Leonard said "Tory cuts and SNP indifference" have led to a rise in homeless applications.

His party says it will fund the building of 120,000 social homes across Scotland in the next decade.

But the SNP said "huge progress" had been made in tackling homelessness. The party said it "will not rest till we have ended it for good".

How has the number of homeless people changed?

Scottish Labour highlight that Scottish government figures show the number of homelessness applications has risen in the last two years.

It went from 34,726 in 2016-17 to 35,573 the following year. Then in 2018-19 it reached 36,465.

However, when the SNP came to power at Holyrood in 2007-08 that number was 57,240.

Labour also point to a rise over the last three years in the number of people sleeping rough before making a homelessness application, from 2,690 in 2016-17 to 2,876 in 2018-19.

But that's down from the 5,615 it was in 2007-08.

The party also highlighted a 64% increase in the number of children in temporary accommodation since 2014.

The number has risen from 4,155 to 6,795 which it said was a "staggering" rise.

Campaigners say the increase reflects the shortage of permanent social homes for families with children to move into.

Building new homes

Mr Leonard said the figures were a result of "a decade of Tory cuts and SNP indifference".

He added: "It is clear that we need real change.

"We have all seen the return of rough sleeping on Scotland's streets - but there is another, unseen, side to homelessness: the children and families sleeping on someone's sofa, or struggling in temporary accommodation."

He continued: "The way to solve this is not by putting up new national borders or constantly bickering over the constitution.

"The only way we will solve this crisis is by building the social housing Scotland needs - that is why Scottish Labour is committed to building 120,000 social homes across Scotland in the next decade."

Scottish government figures show a rise in homelessness applications in the last two years

But the SNP, which is the party of government at Holyrood, said the Scottish government is working to eradicate homelessness.

A spokesman said a £50m fund was in place to end homelessness. He added that the Scottish government was investing over £100m a year to mitigate "a decade of Tory austerity and welfare cuts... put low income households at risk of homelessness".

He added that over £60m of this went to supporting people with housing costs.

"We also recognise that to help people with their housing and address homelessness we need homes. Which is why we are proud of our record of delivering over 87,000 affordable homes - with more than 60,000 for social rent."

What do the experts say?

A report from Crisis, a charity that helps homeless people, suggests:

• Rough sleeping numbers appear to have been relatively stable over the last three years

• The three years to 2018 saw a 12% increase in bed and breakfast placements

• Temporary accommodation placements involving families increased by 25% over the same period, presumably reflecting "blockages" in moving these families on to settled housing

• Councils generally believe welfare reform has exacerbated homelessness, although almost all acknowledged that its impacts had been mitigated by the Scottish government

• The number of people homeless on a typical night in Scotland has been running at between 11,600 and 13,250 since 2010

And Gordon MacRae, of Shelter Scotland, said a rising number of homelessness applications and children in temporary accommodation were "warning signs" that councils were struggling with the impact of a "housing emergency".

Where do the other parties stand on housing?

The Scottish Conservatives want to build a new generation of new towns in Scotland to help ease the housing shortage. They also want to set up a dedicated agency for housing and infrastructure in the Scottish government.

And earlier this week, the party's interim leader, Jackson Carlaw, conceded there had been problems with the implementation of universal credit. But he said it was "designed to get people into work... and we now have a record number of people working".

While the Scottish Liberal Democrats have pledged to build 300,000 homes a year by 2024 across the UK, including social housing especially for social rent (however, decisions over house building are devolved to Holyrood, so will be taken by the Scottish government).

They have also vowed to end rough sleeping within five years.