Scotland's housing minister has been told he should have a "source of shame" at record homelessness statistics.
Housing minister Paul McLennan has said it is "deeply concerning" that there were 40,685 homelessness applications in 2023-24.
It is up 4% on the previous year and is the highest recorded since 2011-12.
Scottish Tory housing spokesman Miles Briggs said the figures should be an "urgent wake up call" for the Scottish Government.
The figures have also been branded a "catastrophic" failure by Scottish Labour.
The Scottish Government, along with 12 local councils, had previously declared a housing emergency over 2022-23 figures.
The latest annual data shows a record number of children were in temporary accommodation between March 2023 and 2024, with the figure increasing to 10,110 from 9,595.
Meanwhile, the average length of time in temporary accommodation was 11 days longer than the previous year, at 278 days in 2023-24.
Mr McLennan, however, said he was "determined" to "reverse the trend" of rising homelessness.
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He said the Scottish Government had made "record funding" of more than £14 billion available to councils in 2024-25 to deliver on services including homelessness.
And he said ministers had a "strong track record" in supporting the delivery of affordable homes, citing 133,000 completed since 2007.
The Scottish Government aims to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032. However, only 21,000 of these were built by March this year.
But the annual data published today showed a 17% decrease in all sector housebuilding starts and completions between 2023 and 2004.
Some 19,293 homes were built, with just 5,053 in the social sector and the rest in the private sector. 15,295 new builds were started.
Excluding 2020 - a year impacted by Covid, new houses built were at their lowest since 2018 and the number of new builds started was at the lowest level since 2013.
Mr Briggs, Scottish Tory Lothian MSP, said: "These scandalous figures should be a source of shame for SNP ministers.
“They might have finally agreed with calls from the Scottish Conservatives, councils and housing organisations that there is a housing emergency in Scotland but their disgraceful inaction is leading to homelessness levels rising all the time.
“Most shockingly, an increasing number of children are homeless, and our young people also spend the longest time stuck in temporary accommodation which is often wholly unsuited for living in.
“This is the effect of SNP ministers cutting almost £200 million from the housing budget at a time of an ever-growing crisis in our communities.
“After 17 years of this failed and distracted SNP Government, it is clear that they are part of the problem not the solution to Scotland’s housing emergency.”
Mark Griffin, Scottish Labour's housing spokesman, said: "These shameful figures are a damning indictment of the SNP's record in government.
"No amount of SNP spin and deflection can mask the fact that they let homelessness soar and left over 10,000 kids without a permanent home."
He added: "Instead of dealing with the housing emergency taking grip in Scotland, the SNP fanned its flames by slashing the affordable housing budget and letting housebuilding plummet."
"Scots cannot keep paying the price for the SNP's catastrophic failures."
The data also showed the number of households reporting rough sleeping the night before their application increased from 1,493 to 1,916 in a year, while over 7,400 temporary accommodation placements were classed as "unsuitable" in 2023-24, a 41% increase.
The housing minister said: "These figures are deeply concerning and I know the lack of a settled home seriously affects people's health and life chances.
“They demonstrate the scale of the challenge we face in tackling the housing emergency and I am determined to work with partners to reverse this trend.
“Working with representatives from across the housing sector is crucial.”
He added: “However, we must stop homelessness from happening in the first place and ensure affordable homes are available when people need them, we are taking action on both fronts.”
An additional £2 million has also been delivered to councils with the greatest and sustained pressures on temporary accommodation this year.
Mr McLennan added: “We are also looking for innovative ways to boost investment in housebuilding and as part of this year’s Programme for Government we announced a £100 million investment in mid-market rent homes, which will be grown alongside private investment to £500 million."
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The Scottish Government is also looking to introduce a Housing Bill to "further strengthen tenants rights".
It will include rent controls and seeks to put protections in places for people threatened with homelessness.
Mr McLennan said: "This will help people avoid the crisis of homelessness and the longer term harms associated with it.”
In July, The Herald launched a seven-point charter for change to help end Scotland's housing emergency including a call to change the law so thousands of Scots found to be at risk of homelessness every year get support earlier to stay in their homes.
The Charter for Change includes a call for the required funds to urgently increase the building of affordable homes so people can move more rapidly out of homelessness and into settled accommodation.
Put together in collaboration with a range of key groups including professional standards body Chartered Institute for Housing, homelessness charity Crisis and national tenants' rights organisation Living Rent, it aims to cut the surge of people who are presenting as homeless across Scotland by getting the nation building the houses that are badly needed.
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