A number of these individuals experiencing homelessness were recently released from prison and said there is an issue with men being released late in the day with no support.

Homeless Project Scotland, which runs a food kitchen and outreach support in Glasgow, said it referred the people on to Glasgow City Council’s case work team.

The council said the numbers of rough sleepers in the city are low and the Scottish Prison Service said homelessness on release is still a problem but that efforts to reduce it have been successful and should be recognised.

Homeless Project Scotland labelled the issue as a system failure because that a charity is having to find these people late at night, The Evening Times reports. 

Colin McInnes from Homeless Project Scotland, said: “We helped accommodate 24 in the first week in October and more the week before. We picked them up and helped get them processed into accommodation.

“Many who are homeless are coming out of prison with nowhere to go. Some are being released after 8pm. There is a failure in the prison service casework. That is a shambles.”

The Scottish Prison Service recognised that some individuals become homeless after they are released but said that due to the efforts made, the problem of homelessness among people leaving prison is not as high as it was a number of years ago.

A spokesperson said: “We work with housing providers to try and ensure when people are released, they have somewhere to go.” He added: “It remains an issue for people coming out of prison. Having somewhere to go is a fundamental part of rehabilitation back into the community.

“Massive improvements have been made especially in Glasgow but the problem still remains and it is more acute in some areas than others.”