Jackie Baillie has declared a housing emergency across Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven after it was revealed that five people are estimated to have died while homeless in West Dunbartonshire in 2022 alone.

The rate in West Dunbartonshire is devastatingly higher than the Scottish average.

Meanwhile Argyll & Bute Council has already declared a housing emergency and it was estimated that there were two homeless deaths in Argyll and Bute over the same period.

The figures released today also revealed the distressing impact this has on Scotland’s young people, with almost half of all estimated homeless deaths coming from people under 45.

This catastrophic figure comes just one week after the SNP refused to support Labour’s motion to declare a housing crisis in Scotland, to put pressure on the Scottish Government to tackle rising rent prices and inappropriate accommodation for those experiencing homelessness.

It also comes as SOLACE, representing Local Government Chief Executives, warned of local authority housing and homelessness services “experiencing unsustainable pressure reflecting the critical lack of capacity in local housing systems in Scotland.”

Jackie Baillie has said that ‘one death is one too many’ and that both the SNP and the Greens are ‘in denial’ about the scale of Scotland’s housing crisis .

The Dumbarton constituency MSP is inundated with enquiries on an almost daily basis from people across Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Lomond who are inadequately housed however both West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute Councils are struggling with a lack of properties.

Meanwhile data released in September revealed that 210 households with children across West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute have been stuck in temporary accommodation for between six months and one year.

Jackie Baillie said: “These truly heartbreaking figures lay bare the scale of Scotland’s housing crisis.

“Every single life lost due to homelessness is a tragedy and even one death is one too many. Each number represents someone let down by the systems which are meant to support them.

“There is a chronic lack of social housing across Scotland and I am all too aware of the problems which exist locally. I constantly hear from constituents across the area who are struggling to find an appropriate house for their needs and size.

“In the past year, homelessness has hit a record high, mortgages have soared, and under the SNP new home building has plummeted. However they and the Greens think everything is fine.

“The SNP and the Greens are in complete denial about the work that needs to be done to reverse the problems.

“We simply cannot sit idly by and allow this tragedy to continue. We need to declare a housing emergency right now and work with local charities and authorities to ensure as much support as possible is given to those experiencing homelessness.”