The number of children forced to live in temporary accommodation has rocketed by 17 per cent in the last year.
Shock figures out today show the number of families in short-term housing is up from 7,385 to 8,635.
Housing campaigners warned the number of kids in temporary accommodation has now quadrupled in the last 20 years.
Most households with children or pregnant women in temporary accommodation are in homes furnished by local councils, while 1,055 are in housing association properties.
The data showed that 65 were in women’s refuges, 55 in bed and breakfasts and 10 on local authority hostels. It comes at a time when affordable housing has become severely limited in certain parts of the country and the cost of renting privately has soared.
Matt Downie, chief executive of the Crisis charity, said: “These statistics should represent a wake-up call.
"Scotland made huge progress in tackling rough sleeping during the pandemic, but fact that more people are spending longer periods of time trapped in temporary accommodation is completely unacceptable.
"We know how damaging spending long periods of time in temporary accommodation can be – particularly for children and young people. You get a roof over your head, but a B&B is not a home.
"People are stripped of their dignity and left unable to plan for the future. But while temporary accommodation should be an emergency measure, too often it is treated as the default solution."
The Scottish Government figures shows some 35,230 applications for homelessness assistance were made in 2021-22, a three per cent increase from 34,286 the year before.
As of March 31, there were 26,166 live homelessness cases in Scotland – more than two-and-a-half times more the same figure in 2003 (10,643).
Housing secretary Shona Robison said: "I am deeply concerned at the increase in the number of children in temporary accommodation.
"This is especially disappointing as 20 local authorities are managing to reduce the use of temporary accommodation.
"Two thirds of families with children in temporary accommodation are in social rented homes, and many more are in private rented tenancies, but we want them to have the stability of a settled home.
"We know the situation has been exacerbated by the pandemic, which has led to a backlog for local authorities that must be addressed. We know that local authorities are facing challenges meeting some households’ needs and preferences.
"But there needs to be greater emphasis on families, particularly in areas where the problem is most acute, and I have been meeting with housing conveners to discuss this further."
'Grim figures'
Mark Griffin, Scottish Labour housing spokesman, said: "These grim figures underline the need for urgent action before the cost of living crisis makes a bad situation worse.
"The SNP ignored warning after warning that they created a cliff-edge for tenants when they scrapped protections without putting the necessary support in place.
"Now they are sleepwalking towards disaster once again as long as they sit on their hands and ignore the issue. During the pandemic we took emergency action to stop people losing their homes because of the crisis – and now we need to do the same again.
"That’s why Scottish Labour are calling for an immediate rent freeze, support for tenants, and a ban on winter evictions."
