A flagship plan to end homelessness is being hindered by staffing and funding problems the Scottish Government has been told.

Housing leaders have warned, across the country, that staff are leaving for higher wages and more secure posts elsewhere.

The Scottish Government’s Rapid Rehousing Transition plan working group heard staff are moving to RSLs and Social Care due to more attractive wages.

There are difficulties recruiting staff on a temporary basis.

Seconding staff leads to challenges elsewhere in councils

Rapid rehousing work is being hindered due to staffing shortages/ frequent staff changes.

And staff who were initially recruited on a temporary basis moving on to other permanent posts.

The Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government is providing Local Authorities with £8 million a year to deliver their Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans over and above the money that is part of the Local Government settlement for homelessness. These plans were developed in 2018 and took effect from April 2019.

“Local Authorities develop their plans to meet local challenges, so not every Local Authority has the same plan. We understood the difficulties that Local Authorities were experiencing due to the short-term nature of the funding (year on year) and decided, along with COSLA, to give two year funding for 2022/23 and 2023/24 in order to help them meet these challenges.”

In Glasgow more than 200 tenancies have been sustained since Housing First began in 2018.

In the last two years the council has spent almost £3m on the programme in 20/21 it spent £1,179,513 and 21/22 £1,769,434.

The city council has 6.5 FTE staff working on Housing First and in the last two years 138 tenancies have been secured from social landlords

There have been 258 secured since the programme started with a success rate of 83% sill in place.

Sean Clerkin housing campaigner from the Scottish Tenants Organisation, said: “The Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans that were supposed to get homeless people into permanent accommodation quickly are not working due to short term funding that is not ring fenced with the result that most staff are on temporary low paid contracts often leaving for better paid permanent jobs hindering the work to rehouse homeless families in Glasgow and throughout Scotland.

“The Scottish Government must give more long term funding immediately to Glasgow and other Local Authorities so that Rapid Rehousing of homeless families to permanent accommodation can be speeded up as it is a disgrace that we have over 6,000 people including 2834 children stuck in unsuitable temporary accommodation in Glasgow.”