The SFHA has said that recent housing figures show that housing starts and approvals have started to move up, while the overall delivery is still significantly under the amount needed, with thousands of households yet to receive an affordable home.

SFHA chief executive Richard Meade said: “Despite Scotland last month entering the third year of its housing emergency, today’s statistics show that housing completions continue to falter whilst more families wait in desperate need of a safe, warm and affordable home.

“Whilst it is welcome that the decline in starts and approvals has been halted and we’re seeing some tentative green shoots of recovery, the bigger picture shows that the number of homes being approved is still almost half below pre-pandemic levels.

“We are under no illusion that the systemic issues holding back delivery of social homes can be solved overnight, but we do urgently need the Scottish Government to set out how it will build on this early progress and match it with the pace this emergency demands.”

Meade added: “Put simply, if we are to give any hope to the nearly 10,500 children growing up in temporary accommodation then the Programme for Government this autumn must be a Programme for Housing.

“The scale of this emergency demands urgency, political willingness and a fully-funded plan to deliver the 15,693 social and affordable homes Scotland needs each year of this parliament. This Parliament cannot fail housing. The consequences for our economy, health, education and wellbeing would be devastating.”