Sixteen housing associations currently benefit from the Scottish Government’s Investing in Communities Fund, which delivers lifeline projects and services for the country’s most disadvantaged communities.

The Fund was brought in by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and is scheduled to run until 2026, with housing associations due to receive £4 million in the current three-year cycle.

However, significant delays in notifying projects of whether funding will still be available to them has left housing associations in the dark and already prompted multiple redundancy notices.

Housing associations employ staff via the funding to deliver a host of community activities ranging from children’s dance classes and gardening groups to providing vital food hubs and energy advice services.

Each of the projects tackles poverty, the current First Minister’s key priority, whilst the progress of the programme also forms a key part of the Scottish Government’s child poverty targets.

According to the Scottish Government’s own website, the Investing in Communities Fund “targets our most disadvantaged communities to deliver projects, services and activities that address poverty and disadvantage on their own terms”.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has now warned that unless funding letters are issued urgently, then further vital anti-poverty jobs may be lost.

SFHA chief executive Sally Thomas said: “It is absolutely devastating that housing associations have been forced to issue redundancy notices to dedicated staff members delivering lifeline work in Scotland’s communities.

“The Scottish Budget was passed in February, so the Scottish Government have known for some time what money was available. This is a position housing associations should never have been in, left in the dark over funding and for so long.

“We have warned the Scottish Government for some time about potential job losses, so it’s simply unbelievable that this has dragged on for so long, with more and more jobs being lost, social tenants and communities are being badly let down at a time they most need support.

“This funding is a lifeline for disadvantaged communities across Scotland at a time of increasing living costs and should be a priority for government to resolve. The housing associations affected are waiting daily for certainty as people and communities suffer.”