SCOTLAND is in the grip of a housing emergency. An emergency which hits the poorest hardest but affects us all. This week the Scottish Parliament will debate the Government’s draft budget which includes some positive news on investment in social and affordable housing, but fails to give the long-term commitment which is necessary.

As MSPs crunch the numbers, here are some to add to the mix. Last year 29,894 households were made homeless, the equivalent of one every 18 minutes. The number of children in temporary accommodation in September was 7,252, the highest level since 2002. Rough sleeping in Scotland is rising, councils are increasingly breaking the law and denying people their right to temporary accommodation and families with children are on average spending more than 6 months in temporary homeless accommodation.

The Scottish Government has committed an additional £17 million to this year’s budget for the affordable house building programme and £300 million for 2021-22, to ensure affordable homes continue to be delivered beyond this parliamentary term. This open letter from the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Shelter Scotland to the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, Aileen Campbell, acknowledges and welcomes this additional investment.

But we will also be frank; we urgently require an ambitious funding commitment that extends beyond 2021-22. We need the Scottish Government to acknowledge the significant housing need that exists and to commit to another long-term building programme for affordable and social homes. At a minimum this must be no less than the current target of 50,000 affordable homes.

Graeme Brown, Director, Shelter Scotland; Sally Thomas, Chief Executive, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations; Callum Chomczuk,National Director, Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland