SCOTLAND’S First Minister must face Parliament over an SNP-Green government “in denial” on the nation’s housing emergency, Scottish Labour have said.

Despite councils such as Edinburgh and Glasgow taking the unprecedented step of declaring a housing emergency, the SNP-Green Scottish government have so far resisted calls from homelessness charity Shelter and opposition politicians to make a similar national declaration.

Criticism intensified when the Scottish government’s recent budget slashed spending on housing by a staggering £205 million — from £738m to £533m — for the coming year, prompting Labour housing spokesman Mark Griffin to join Shelter’s calls for Humza Yousaf to face Parliament on the issue.