The minister

will know that, in the past year alone, some 39,000 homeless applications have been made, which is the highest number on record. The number of people being forced to sleep rough has doubled since last year and more than 6,000 children have been stuck in temporary accommodation for more than a year. Shelter Scotland statistics show that, on average, 45 children a day become homeless in Scotland. I am sure that the minister will agree that that is shameful. What action is he taking to urgently deliver support to people who are facing homelessness and, at its extreme, rough sleeping? Will he join Shelter and local authorities such as Argyll and Bute to declare the crisis a housing emergency?