Almost 100,000 children in Scotland on social housing waiting list

Almost 100,000 children in Scotland are on social housing waiting lists, it has been revealed.

Figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives show at least 95,293 children in Scotland are on waiting lists for council housing.

Fife, North Lanarkshire and Edinburgh had the three highest numbers.

Picture: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

Around 183,000 households and more than 230,000 adults across Scotland are on waiting lists for social rented accommodation.

Out of Scotland’s 32 councils, 29 provided complete data.

Scottish Tory housing spokesman Miles Briggs called the figures, which were obtained via Freedom of Information laws, "shocking and shameful".

He said: “Years of missed SNP targets on council housebuilding have left 183,000 households waiting for social rented accommodation in Scotland – and almost 100,000 children.

“That’s 100,000 children left living in unstable accommodation due to the SNP’s negligence.

“The SNP have consistently failed to build enough new social rented homes throughout their time in power.

“With the cost-of-living crisis biting hard, many Scots on these waiting lists will be unable to continue paying for privately rented accommodation, and there is a very real possibility of families and children becoming homeless as a result of these enormous waiting lists.

“This is nothing short of a scandal.

"The SNP must now urgently commit to the ambitious targets on housebuilding that the Scottish Conservatives have been demanding for years – and deliver the 25,000 homes we need each year to end this appalling crisis.”

In 2020, analysis by Shelter Scotland indicated there were around 70,000 children on social housing waiting lists.

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.