Freedom of information requests submitted by the party to each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities have revealed that at least 95,293 children in Scotland are on waiting lists for council housing. The Tories said the true figure may be even higher, as three councils were unable to return complete data.

In 2020, the charity Shelter Scotland estimated 70,000 children were on waiting lists for social housing.

The data obtained shows 183,185 households are on waiting lists, with a total of 233,343 adults in this category.

Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for social justice, housing and local government, Miles Briggs MSP said: “These shocking and shameful figures highlight the extent of the social housing crisis in Scotland right now.

“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.”

SNP MSP Kaukab Stewart said: “It is hard to believe a word the Tories say when it comes to affordable homes - this is the party who sold off our council houses, who are lagging far behind Scotland in delivery of homes in England, and whose targets lack the ambition people across Scotland need. And that is before we even consider their total lack of action on the cost of living crisis and spiralling energy bills which is creating hardship for thousands of families.

“In stark contrast, the SNP has a clear record on delivering homes. Since 2007, we have been leading the way in the creation of affordable homes - delivering 96,750 affordable homes, nearly 67,000 of which were for social rent, and, in the four years to 2021, over nine times more social rented homes per head of population than England and the SNP government’s per capita spending on affordable housing is more than three times higher than the UK Government.”

Adults, children and households on social housing waiting lists by local authority: