More than 13,000 households have been waiting for more than a decade for social housing, that is according to new figures released by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

The data was obtained using Freedom of Information laws and revealed that more than a fifth of those on local authority housing lists have been waiting over five years for a home. Of the 170,351 people on the waiting list, 33,334 have had a wait of more than five years. Just over 13,000 have been on the list for more than a decade.

As a result, the Lib Dems have called on the Scottish Government to take action and help more people into homes.

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Jim Hume, Lib Dem housing spokesman, said: "Since the SNP reneged on its promises to build more homes for social rent, Scotland's housing crisis has worsened.

"I have obtained figures which show over 33,000 households have been stuck on local authority waiting lists for social housing for over five years. Around 13,000 households have been waiting for over a decade.

"Affordable housing or even private renting isn't an option open to every household in every part of Scotland. Scottish Liberal Democrats supported the closure of the right to buy scheme as a way of rebalancing Scotland's housing stock.

"But with two years until that comes into effect the Scottish Government can't afford to sit back and wait for this problem to fix itself. Families and individuals across Scotland are putting their life on hold for over a decade whilst they wait for a home."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government reaffirmed it is "committed" to providing affordable social housing to those in Scotland. Last month, it announced it was to end the "right-to-buy" scheme for council tenants in order to increase the supply of social housing.

(JP/IT)