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On that particular point, during the first half of this session of Parliament, we made a record sum of funding—£120 million—available to Fife Council. This year, Fife Council’s budget will increase from £26.2 million to £30.1 million, and those additional funds, which are the council’s share of the national £40 million fund, are intended for the acquisition of properties. The purpose of acquiring properties and of the work that we are doing with Fife Council in relation to voids is to bring properties into circulation as soon as possible.

The permanent secretary and the director of local government and housing met with the chief executive of Fife Council on 27 November 2024 to discuss the housing emergency, and I will meet with Councillor Hamilton in due course. In addition, Scottish Government officials meet with Fife Council officials regularly on a range of housing-related matters, including the housing emergency response.

I am aware of the case and we are engaging with Fife Council on the issue. The standard of temporary accommodation is important, which is why the Scottish Government published the temporary accommodation standards framework in 2023, to ensure that accommodation is of a high standard and that households receive the support services that meet their needs. Reducing the number of households—particularly households with children—in temporary accommodation and the time that they spend in it is a top priority for this Government.

Increasing housing supply is key to reducing homelessness, and we will continue to work with partners to deliver more affordable homes, the majority of which will be for social rent. Acquiring larger properties that are suitable for families will help to reduce the number of households—including families with children—that are in temporary accommodation. Scottish Government funding of £42 million in 2024-25 will help to increase the supply of social housing of the right type and size where it is needed most.

The report that was published earlier this month highlighted the devastating impact that living in poor-quality temporary accommodation can have on children’s lives. We have heard examples of that today, and I take addressing that as one of my main objectives as housing minister.

In response to the research findings, Shelter Scotland stated that we—all of us—

“have a duty to act”

on what we have heard. The Government is already acting. I talked about the £768 million investment in acquisitions and voids funding, which has enabled reductions in Edinburgh, as I think Foysol Choudhury mentioned, and in four other areas that are under the most sustained pressure.

However, we all need to act on the issue together. One key thing that was in the Crisis report was the need for the UK Government to act on local housing allowance and tackling poverty. Local housing allowance is being frozen again, and the Crisis report mentioned that that has the biggest influence in pushing people into homelessness. We need the Labour Government to act on that and, again, I ask colleagues from the Labour Party to engage with that. The Tories had that policy for a number of years and knew the impact of it, so they have to take responsibility on that point. That report mentioned that the policy on local housing allowance pushed people into homelessness, which the Tories have to acknowledge.

Our ambition—all members’ ambition—is for every household to have a settled home, and we are firmly committed to reducing the number of households that are in temporary accommodation.

I will touch on the point that Willie Rennie made about voids and acquisitions. In engaging with the housing to 2040 group, we have worked with local authorities on targeting homes that need to be purchased for families with large numbers of children. That is a targeted focus, and a reduction in temporary accommodation has started in 20 local authorities. That is key. I have talked about the £200 million that is increasing housing supply, and I will come on to Meghan Gallacher’s point about investment in a second.

We are all, rightly, concerned to hear of the experiences that children described in the research of living in conditions that breached the unsuitable accommodation order. Of course we are—everybody is. The action that the Scottish Government is taking now is intended to move us out of the housing emergency, but that will take time and requires a sustained and joint effort from all parties. I will touch on that in a second.

As was mentioned, local authorities—of all colours—are responsible for that, too. They are all working extremely hard to increase the supply of social, affordable housing and deliver services for people who experience homelessness. We have been working, and will continue to work, in partnership with local government. We will not support the Tory amendment, for the very reason that we have been working very closely with local authorities on their housing emergency action plans. We think that it is better to work with local authorities on their own local housing emergencies rather than the national picture. We have seen the effect of that, through a reduction of about 40 per cent in Edinburgh, for example.

Yes, if I have time.

I will come to that later in my speech.

We also know that harm can be caused by the condition of some temporary accommodation. The Scottish Government is clear that temporary accommodation provided should be of a consistently high standard and that the households who live in that accommodation should receive good-quality services that meet their needs. That is why, in 2023, the Scottish Government published the temporary accommodation standards framework, which sets out physical, location, service and management standards to ensure that temporary accommodation is of good quality and is safe and affordable. We will need to discuss the framework with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and other stakeholders, but all local authorities should ensure that the temporary accommodation that they provide to accommodate homeless households meets the standards in that framework. A public consultation is required before the framework can be implemented, and I am pleased to say that we will begin the consultation later this year.

The Government is focused on driving down the number of households, especially those with children, that are living in temporary accommodation. Our latest statistics show that 12 local authorities reduced the number of households that are living in temporary accommodation in 2023-24, and that 20 local authorities have reduced the number of children who are living in temporary accommodation.

With regard to actions that have been taken, I note that there has been a 40 per cent reduction in Edinburgh in the voids that Mark Griffin mentioned, a 23 per cent reduction in Fife, a 25 per cent reduction in West Lothian and a 20 per cent reduction in South Lanarkshire. The action that we are taking now is making a difference by bringing homes forward more quickly. For example, in my constituency, between September 2023 and September 2024, there was a 33 per cent reduction in the number of children living in temporary accommodation.

We know that housing and homelessness pressures are not uniform across Scotland. In response to that, we have provided funding of £80 million over this year and next, 80 per cent of which has been targeted at five local authorities that have the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures. To date, that has supported local authorities to bring 1,000 homes back into use through acquisitions and to reduce the number of empty homes. That is the action that we are taking, and we are seeing the outcomes of that coming through.

On the Housing (Scotland) Bill, Mark Griffin has lodged amendments at stage 2, and I will be happy to engage with him tomorrow at the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, and beyond.

Every child deserves a safe and warm place to call home. That is a fundamental human right. Mr Whitfield mentioned the UNCRC, and I know that he follows issues related to it very closely. Section 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 makes it unlawful for public authorities in Scotland to act in a manner that is incompatible with the UNCRC requirements when carrying out certain functions. That is really important, and I know that that is what some of Mark Griffin’s amendments relate to. Again, I am willing to discuss that matter with Mr Whitfield. I note that the UNCRC also requires that, in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration.

On Awaab’s law, the tragic death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale in 2020 highlighted the issue of damp and mould in housing. The quality of housing has improved over a number of years due to the actions of this Government. We know that most social landlords in Scotland keep their properties in a good state of repair and tackle issues promptly. The Scottish house condition survey shows that more than 90 per cent of homes have no damp or condensation. However, we know that damp and mould still occur and that waiting for repairs brings physical and mental health risks. I do not think that anybody wants tenants in Scotland to live in those conditions. That is why I was very pleased to lodge an amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Bill that, in a way that is similar to Awaab’s law in England—we have been working with the Government in England on this—will require social landlords to investigate and address issues in a timely manner, especially when tenants’ health is affected. We are committed to implementing a similar provision to Awaab’s law for private tenants after engagement with the private rented sector.

I am happy to answer that point. Our action is in consultation with local authorities. The situations of local authorities in Edinburgh, Glasgow and elsewhere are all different.

We have targeted an increase in the budget to £768 million. The increase in voids and acquisitions funding is an important part of that. We have talked about the £4 million pilot for the Scottish empty homes partnership. We think that it is better to work in engagement with local authorities on their specifics. That is demonstrated in the action that we are taking and in the reductions that 20 local authorities have had in temporary accommodation for children. That is an important point. Reducing the number of households and time spent in temporary accommodation is a priority for the Government, as it is for everybody else.

Housing is critical to the delivery of our national mission to eradicate child poverty. I think that Marie McNair made the point that the UK Government’s announcement yesterday on disability benefits will not help the housing situation at all. It will push more people, including more families with children, into homelessness.

The Scottish Government spends more money per person on discretionary housing payments than the UK Government does. Again, the UK Labour Government can help on that. We are spending £97 million in 2025-26, which is an increase on 2024-25. Again, the UK Government could help us to reduce the figures that we talked about.

I want to talk about some of the amendments.

I will come back to that point. On the amendments—[Interruption.]

I said that I would come back, and I will come back to the points that were made by Meghan Gallacher after I address Mark Griffin’s points.

We discussed the UNCRC. We will vote for the Labour motion, but we are also trying to acknowledge the progress that has been made.

Meghan Gallacher made a few points about the task and finish group, which fed directly into the Housing (Scotland) Bill. On investment, she knows as well as Graham Simpson does that I value the impact of build to rent, mid-market rent and other investment opportunities. Just this afternoon, we met the housing investment task force, which has produced recommendations. The Government will look at those and will get back to that group quickly. We acknowledge the value of that area. The task force also fed into the rent controls discussion. As I said, we will come back to that point.

Willie Rennie made a point about looking at opportunities in the investment sector, and Mr Rennie and I have talked about the value of bringing investment into Scotland. We need that. It is not just about Government funding; it is about funding from other areas as well.

Mr Rennie made a point about asylum issues, which we are discussing with the UK Government. As Mr Rennie mentioned, there are specific pressures in Glasgow, but we are discussing that particular point with the UK Government.

On Meghan Gallacher’s point, of course we take responsibility for our actions. That is why we have the £768 million, the temporary accommodation fund and the £4 million for that. We will engage with Shelter on that point, too. Of course we have taken responsibility—that is why we have taken the actions that we have decided to take.

On a point that Graham Simpson made, the cabinet secretary is not here because she has a long-standing meeting with the UK Government—I wanted to put that on the record.

Willie Coffey made the point that parties of all colours are involved. All local authorities are involved.

We have touched on amending the Housing (Scotland) Bill to require social landlords to investigate and address issues that, if left unattended, could cause health problems or worse, as in the case of Awaab Ishak. That measure would provide tenants in the social rented sector with assurances that their homes will be of good quality, and we are engaging with the private rented sector on that.

Scotland has strong homelessness rights, which mean that households have the safety net of temporary accommodation when that is needed, as a legal right. We are taking action, and we are seeing those actions coming through. The number of children in temporary accommodation has dropped in 20 local authorities, and the number of voids is also falling.

We have also implemented a wide range of anti-poverty measures, including the Scottish child payment and mitigating the bedroom tax and the benefit cap to address issues that we know contribute to households presenting as homeless and to negate the need for them to enter temporary accommodation.

Will the member take an intervention?

I welcome this debate on housing, which follows a few weeks after the publication of Shelter Scotland’s research on children who are living in temporary accommodation. I attended and spoke at its event. The report lays bare some of the stark conditions for children and their families who are living in temporary accommodation, which Mark Griffin mentioned and which, quite frankly, are unacceptable. I agree with him on that point.

It is important to remember that not all temporary accommodation is unsuitable accommodation. However, we know that lengthy stays in temporary accommodation are not good for the health and wellbeing of families.