John Swinney has been told to sack his "out of touch" housing minister after record homelessness figures were published.
Paul McLennan said on Tuesday that the Scottish Government had a "strong track record" in supporting the delivery of affordable homes.
Official statistics published on Tuesday revealed there were 40,685 homelessness applications in 2023-24, and as of March 31 this year, there were 31,870 live applications - the highest on record.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar used First Minister's Questions (FMQs) on Thursday to grill the First Minister on the "shameful" data, which also showed 10,110 children were in temporary accommodation - up from 9,595 the previous year.
The Scottish Government, along with 12 councils, declared a housing emergency earlier in the year.
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The housing minister told The Herald on Wednesday he was not making excuses over the crisis.
But during FMQs, Mr Sarwar urged the First Minister to make a choice in putting up with "more failure" or sack Mr McLennan.
Mr Sarwar said: "We now, shamefully, have record levels of children in temporary accommodation - without a home to call their own.
"That is over 10,000 children left homeless on this government's watch.
"And the number of young people living in B&Bs has soared in only three years by over 900%.
"So First Minister, with record levels of homelessness and you now agreeing with a declared housing emergency, will you change course or will you back your out of touch housing minister?"
Mr Swinney said: "Yes there is a housing emergency. The Scottish Government recognises that, and the Government is taking action to remedy the housing emergency."
He said work was being taken to strengthen investment in the building of new homes, adding: "The Government is absolutely focused on building on its strong track record of house construction to tackle the challenges that we face."
In contrast, he said the Labour-led Scottish Government between 1999 and 2007 had build 5,448 per year on average.
"Under this government - and I am not evading our responsibility - we have built on average 7,750 affordable homes each year.
"That says to me that this Government is getting on with the job."
He added: "Now between 1999 and 2007, when Mr Sarwar's party were in charge of the Scottish Government - the Labour government, when money was so flush that they left money in the treasury kitty unspent, here was an average of 5,448 affordable homes."
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Mr Sarwar hit back, arguing the response represented a Government with "its head in the sand".
He said: "The First Minister wants to talk about a time when I was 16 years old, not a time when 10,000 children are homeless right now under this Government's watch."
"Scots are left to pay the price for an SNP that has lost its way, is incompetent in government and that is bad with people's money," he added.
“Housing in Scotland is completely the responsibility of this SNP government.
“After 17 years, when will they take responsibility, rather than always look for someone else to blame.
“For the housing minister to claim they have a ‘proven track record’ on tackling homelessness, when it is at record levels, is not just inept, it is shameful.
“Paul McLennan simply cannot continue.
“The First Minister has a choice: put up with more failure or get to grips with the housing emergency, sack this housing minister and change direction.”
The clash comes as the Scottish Government announced an additional £100 million of funding to build 2,800 mid-market homes, with Mr McLennan saying "bold decisions" were needed to fix the crisis.
In an interview with The Herald on Wednesday, it was put to Mr McLennan that those experiencing homelessness would not consider the Scottish Government to have a "strong track record".
He responded: "It's not an excuse. We have got to highlight and understand the position that we're in.
"This year we've built 19,000 homes. We still, per head of population, built 40% more than England and 70% more than Wales.
"But we need to be doing more. Of course we need to be doing more."
Asked if he accepted the figures were not good enough, he said: "I think it demonstrates the scale of the challenge we're facing."
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