A proposal to front load tens of millions of pounds of homelessness cash to build houses is to be considered by a Holyrood committee.

The petition by housing campaigner Sean Clerkin, has been passed to the Local Government Committee after MSPs said it had merit and was worthy of further investigation.

He wants 80% of the £50m the Government has committed to ending homelessness to go on immediate house building.

The housing Minister and Scottish Federation of Housing Association disagreed and said money was needed for support for vulnerable people.

Petitions Committee Convener, Johan Lamont, said: “There is a general consensus that tackling homelessness and rough sleeping should be prioritised because it is an important matter.

“The contention is in the way in which the petitioner envisaged the money being spent.

“ He felt that it would be front loaded and used to build houses, whereas some people in the housing sector felt that the run-in time for these things can be long, and that a lot of the support that homeless people require is not just about the tenancy but the support that we can wrap around them.

“There is clearly an interesting argument to be had, and there are merits on both sides.”

Mr Clerkin was pleased the petition will go forward and was disappointed with the Scottish Government response.

He said: “The Scottish government so far have failed to match words with action.

“This Petition marked a positive opportunity for Kevin Stewart the Minister for Local Government and Housing to announce the front loading of £40 million of the £50 million to tackle the Homelessness Crisis in Scotland but their response has failed totally on that in that the £21 million allocated just follows their previous policy of spending £10 million per year over five years.”