In his latest Post column, Victoria Park Councillor Chris Eunis Jassemi shares his thoughts on a cash windfall for business...

Without significant additional policy interventions, core homelessness is projected to increase by 33 per cent by 2026, as indicated by the Scottish Homelessness Monitor.

This entails a rise in people sleeping rough, a surge in those staying in hostels, and an increase in those in temporary accommodation.

As I write this, nearly 10,000 children across Scotland are already in temporary accommodation.

The stark reality is that homelessness levels have reached a record high, demanding urgent and decisive action.

This crisis requires a comprehensive response, centred on the construction of affordable housing and the establishment of a proper funding settlement.

The alarming record should serve as a focal point for the development of effective strategies.

However, the budget presented by Shona Robison failed to underscore the implications of her disastrous decision to make a £196 million cut from affordable housing supply programs.

The decision to reduce the housing budget during a housing crisis is perplexing. In November, all political parties in Glasgow City Council came together and declared a housing emergency.

Meanwhile, the SNP and the Greens in Holyrood aligned with the Tories, blocking Scottish Labour’s appeals to declare a national housing emergency and to implement measures ensuring the safety and warmth of families.

The surge in bed-and-breakfast accommodation, rising by 124 per cent from 789 to 1,765 households across Scotland in the three years leading to March 2023, vividly illustrates the escalating misery of homelessness.

The inadequate emphasis on homelessness in the Scottish budget starkly reflects the values of the SNP-led Government today.

Scottish Labour is prepared to usher in change by allocating resources to the pockets of working people and building the homes of the future.

We cannot go on like this.