New data released by the Scottish Government shows that East Renfrewshire has recorded the highest percentage increase in homelessness across Scotland.
The statistics show that when the 2022/23 financial year concluded at the end of March, there were 98 families within East Renfrewshire in temporary accommodation.
The statistics highlight that for the equivalent period in March 2024, a total of 176 households in the local authority were in temporary accommodation.
This represents a rise of 78 families who required temporary housing and equates to an increase of 80 percent.
The council area with the second highest increase was Inverclyde with a 41 percent rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation.
The percentage of live homelessness cases in East Renfrewshire experienced the second largest increase in Scotland.
The number of cases increased from 331 at the end of March 2023 to 563 for the same period in 2024 and this represents a rise of 70 percent.
Inverclyde had the highest rise with an increase of 102 percent.
Local Scottish Conservative MSP, Jackson Carlaw has hit out at the Scottish Government for the increase in homelessness and criticised the SNP for not declaring a national housing emergency at an earlier date.
The Scottish Government made the declaration of a housing emergency in May.
The SNP previously confirmed that there would be a cut of approximately £200 million to the affordable housing budget in the early months of 2024 and this amounted to a reduction of approximately 26 percent.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Eastwood, Jackson Carlaw said:
“The levels of homelessness in East Renfrewshire are scandalous.
“The recent data published by the Scottish Government shows that East Renfrewshire has experienced the highest percentage increase of households in temporary accommodation throughout Scotland and by a very considerable distance.
“The number of live homelessness cases has also shot through the roof and with the second highest percentage increase across the country.
“Both of these unwanted developments are a complete disgrace.
“Ministers took far too long to agree that there is a housing emergency and the SNP’s brutal cut of almost £200 million to the housing budget is hardly going to help with tackling rising homelessness.
“These figures should be a wake-up call for Ministers to finally deliver the resources to guarantee that everyone in East Renfrewshire can have a permanent place to call home.”
