| Good morning, Almost 16,000 children found themselves homeless last year and a household lost their home every 17 minutes, new figures from the Scottish Government have shown. Annual homeless statistics released yesterday show an overall increase of homelessness of four per cent, with 11,665 households in temporary accommodation on March 31 2020, just a week after Covid-19 had put the country into lockdown. The number is the highest on record and a rise of six per cent compared with 2018/19 and includes 7,280 children, a seven per cent increase and again the highest on record. Figures also show Edinburgh City Council were, for the third year in a row, the worst offenders for placing pregnant women and children in unsuitable accommodation and breaching legislation regulating temporary accommodation. Full story HERE A message from the editor: While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription. Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up. Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website. Your feedback is really important, please email me with any comments and suggestions at [email protected] Joy Yates Editorial Director JPIMedia Scotland | 