Are having to grow up in hostels and B&Bs

Scottish Labour’s housing spokesperson, Pauline McNeill MSP, described the situation as “distressing”.

She said: “We have to strive for a country where every child grows up in a stable home with a roof over their head.

“The root of this problem is insecure and low-paid work and a lack of affordable housing.

“A Labour Government will abolish zero- hour contracts, raise the living wage to £ 10 per hour and build 60,000 new affordable homes in Scotland.”

Earlier this year it was revealed more than a quarter of children in Scotland live in poverty.

Overall figures show that 1.05 million people in Scotland were in relative poverty after they had paid housing costs, which is up 2% from the previous year.

Equalities Secretary, Angela Constance, said the Scottish Government was working hard to reduce child poverty, but it was hampered by the UK Government’s “failed austerity agenda” and £1 billion of cuts to welfare spend in Scotland.

The picture of despair widened last week when it was revealed teachers are regularly dipping into their own pockets to pay for things for poorer pupils.

An EIS survey said teachers are personally providing food and funding school uniforms for children living in poverty. Some 51% said they or colleagues had taken steps to help less-affluent pupils.

Last night Mrs Constance said she was dismayed at the rise in children living rootless existences.

She said: “Whilst homelessness is falling, we were disappointed to see a rise in the numbers of families in temporary accommodation.

“We are increasing housing supply to help with this.

“We are also committed to ensuring all temporary accommodation is the same standard as permanent accommodation.

“The Minister for Housing met with local authorities in March to discuss action that needs to be taken to reduce the numbers in temporary accommodation.” MOST families placed are coming to a place that is more safe than home, the streets, or where they left.

It is important to acknowledge they are often taken from a place that was less safe for them than temporary accommodation.

Families might have left a domestic violence situation at home, have been made homeless for financial reasons, or through house fires and other events that mean they can’t stay in their homes any longer.

Children on their own might include children leaving foster care, when foster care has broken down, or they have had to leave home and other options aren’t available.

They are in crisis and this is supposed to be only temporary while better accommodation can be found for them.

Because that’s the context, it provides at least a place of safety for families and young people.

But it can become increasingly difficult to move people along from the arrangement if no alternative accommodation is available.

In that situation, being in temporary or unsuitable accommodation can halt the progress that had been made to that point.

There can be a sense of it being a stopgap so they are consistently waiting in limbo for that sense of security, of having a space they can call their own.