MORE than 7,000 people in East Ayrshire are on a council housing waiting list, according to shock new figures.

According to data released last week under Freedom of Information there have been 3761 applications for a property with the local authority - a figure which includes 7,234 adults and children.

A third of those on the East Ayrshire Council social housing list - 1,067 in total - are under the age of 18.

The figures have prompted accusations against the Scottish Government of failing to build enough affordable properties to rent and slashing the housing budget.

Throughout the country 327,585 are on a waiting list for either a council or housing association home.

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Of those, 103,732 are children.

Miles Briggs MSP, housing spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, who uncovered the figures, said: "Communities across Scotland are facing a housing crisis and we are seeing precious little in the way of action from the Government to tackle it.

"These figures are an absolute disgrace and wholly unacceptable.

"It should be a source of shame for ministers that over 100,000 Scottish children are currently on social housing waiting lists.

"They completely expose the Government's failure to build enough affordable homes for people and families across Scotland.

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"Overall over 300,000 people are on the waiting list for social houses in our country, which is a truly scandalous state of affairs."

Mr Briggs also accused ministers of cutting spending on housing - including house building - by around £340 million.

He added: “The wholly illogical decision to slash the housing budget has come back to haunt ministers who must use these figures as an urgent wake-up call and reverse those deeply damaging cuts immediately.

“If they don’t, then these figures will spiral even further out of control.”

Glasgow City Council had the largest number of people - 36,186 - on housing waiting lists, including 10,616 children.

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There are currently at least 24,209 people in Scotland with disabilities waiting for their own home.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The majority of people on housing lists are already in a property and are looking to move to a different type of property or to a different area, so the Conservatives are simply wrong to suggest that 100,000 children are ‘waiting to be housed’.

“We are proud that Scotland has led the UK in delivering affordable housing, with more than 118,000 homes delivered since 2007.

"We are providing £3.5 billion over this parliament towards the delivery of social and affordable homes, and we are committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70 percent will be available for social rent.”

East Ayrshire Council has been approached for comment.