New figures show Glasgow addiction services staffing sat more than 22 full time posts below budget last year. The shortfall has added to concern over the strength of the city’s frontline recovery support. Freedom of information data obtained by The Herald reveals the scale of the gap. Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership finished the financial year with staffing almost 11% under the level it had planned for. Officials say the gap reflects turnover rather than any deliberate cut.

A Widening Gap Between Budget and Reality

The FOI figures show the partnership had budgeted for the equivalent of just over 204 full time staff. This covered its directly run alcohol and drug recovery services. By year end, the workforce stood at just over 182 full time equivalents. That left a shortfall of more than 22 posts. Notably, the partnership recorded only 10.12 vacancies for the same period. That figure is less than half the overall gap between budgeted and actual staffing. The mismatch suggests something beyond open vacancies has squeezed Glasgow addiction services staffing. Turnover also appears to have played a part. The partnership maintains it has frozen no posts. It insists the shortfall has not affected caseloads or service capacity. The figures cover both inpatient and community staff.

Not a One Off Year

The pattern is not new. The year before, Glasgow had budgeted for the equivalent of 195.39 full time staff. It had only 175.29 in place. That was a difference of just over 20 posts. The partnership recorded 14.6 vacancies at the time. Taken together, the two years point to a recovery service workforce that has consistently run below its intended strength. As a result, questions are mounting over whether current funding actually delivers the staffing levels needed on the ground.

Complex Needs, Pressured Roles

According to Carolyn Lochhead, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, retaining staff in alcohol services can be difficult. The roles are often highly skilled yet low paid. They are also carried out in what she called very pressured environments. She said people seeking support increasingly present with complex needs. Access to specialist alcohol treatment has fallen significantly over the past decade. Furthermore, she argued that the Scottish Government’s focus on its National Mission on Drugs has come at the expense of alcohol services. That leaves Glasgow addiction services staffing and funding for alcohol recovery comparatively overlooked, in her view. She has called on ministers to urgently carry out a promised national needs assessment on alcohol. She wants services to be appropriately staffed and adequately funded.

Spending Rises as Staffing Lags

Meanwhile, spending on the service has continued to climb. Net spending rose from £21.97 million in 2024/25 to £23.30 million last year. Gross spending reached £24.08 million. Even so, the accounts ended a combined £585,495 below their final budgets across the two years. That included £499,908 in 2024/25 and £85,587 last year. The council said the underspend arose partly because spending itself ran above budget. At the same time, income came in significantly higher than expected. That left a smaller net underspend overall. Asked whether any money moved into future years, the council said plainly it had carried forward no funds. The figures alone do not show whether the underspend could have strengthened the recovery service workforce directly.

Services in Transition

The staffing figures have emerged during a period of significant change for addiction support in the city. Glasgow City HSCP is taking over the Glasgow Alcohol and Drug Crisis Service. It is also taking over the Residential Stabilisation Service. The move follows Turning Point Scotland’s decision not to renew its contracts. The Crisis Service is due to transfer without any loss of jobs or beds. The future of the Residential Stabilisation Service remains under review. Turning Point Scotland previously said the decision left it deeply disappointed. The HSCP, however, said the charity had indicated it would not extend the contracts unless the parties resolved financial and property related problems first. One dispute concerned rent at the Crisis Centre. Landlord City Property Glasgow had proposed raising the annual charge from £65,000 to £131,000.

The charity has stressed that the latest staffing figures relate only to services the council delivers directly. They do not concern its Crisis or Residential Stabilisation services. Maryam Tariq of Sisters Against Cuts said vulnerable people and overstretched staff should not repeatedly have to fight to preserve services that recovery depends on.

In response, Drugs and Alcohol Minister Maree Todd said the Scottish Government had allocated £116.2 million to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships in 2026/27. The funding is meant to support the commissioning of local services. She added that responsibility for delivery rests at a local level. Ministers, she said, remain in close contact with partners including Glasgow HSCP. The Scottish Government said local partnerships hold significant autonomy over how they commission services and spend funding.

Taken together, the figures suggest that closing the gap in Glasgow addiction services staffing will take more than budget allocations alone. Demand for support continues to grow in complexity. Consistent, properly resourced staffing may prove just as important to recovery outcomes as the funding attached to it.

Source: dbrecoveryresources