SCOTLAND must spend more on housing supply, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The former first minister – who left office in 2023 after nine years in the top job – said her comments were not meant as a criticism of her successors.
Her statement comes after more than a dozen councils and the Scottish Parliament declared a housing emergency amid record levels of homelessness applications.
The Scottish Government data also revealed that as of September 30, there were a record 16,634 households living in temporary accommodation – including 10,360 children.
Speaking at an event on leadership at Scotland's Housing Festival in Edinburgh, Sturgeon was questioned by Alison Watson, the chief executive of leading homelessness charity Shelter Scotland, about what could be done to tackle the issue.
“We live in such a challenging time right now, in every aspect,” Sturgeon said.
“Financially for the Scottish Government, there are no easy options, the money is fixed, largely, (and) everybody wants to make a bigger call on it, so these decisions are horrendously difficult.
“What I will say is… good housing underpins almost every other objective a Government will have, so it’s got to be a priority.”
Sturgeon added: “We do need to invest in greater supply.”
One of her proudest achievements in power, she told the event, was the abolition of the right to buy scheme in Scotland, which she said stopped the “drain on supply” of council homes.
While she acknowledged that increasing supply “takes investment”, Sturgeon went on to urge the housing sector to be “innovative and fresh thinking”.
Scotland's Housing Festival is taking place in Edinburgh on Tuesday and Wednesday.
