[Hpn] Housing Bill = more homelessness & social exclusion, says public service union in Scotland (fwd) service union in Scotland (fwd)

[Tom Boland]

"Far from providing 'new solutions to old problems' as the minister says,
in parts of Scotland, whole stock transfer will deliver us back to the bad
old days before council housing." -- Unison's Mike Kirby

http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/uk/scotland/newsid_1087000/1087890.stm
FWD  BBC News Online: UK: Scotland - Tuesday, 26 December, 2000, 17:29 GMT

     HOUSING REFORM PLANS UNDER FIRE

	Plans to reform Scotland's council-owned housing have come under
fire from a leader of one of the largest public service unions.

Mike Kirby, Unison's Scottish convener, said the recently introduced
Housing Bill was flawed, could increase social exclusion and see a hike in
rents.

He said that plans to transfer local authority homes to housing
associations could present serious difficulties for councils when it came
to housing homeless people.

The Scottish Executive says that transferring control will free up money
for repairs and improvements.

The Housing (Scotland) Bill was unveiled by Social Justice Minister Jackie
Baillie last week.

She described it as providing "new solutions to old problems".

The minister told the Scottish Parliament that the bill could provide the
basis for housing strategies that "look beyond bricks and mortar".

It contains measures to prevent and alleviate homelessness and strengthen
the rights of homeless people.

The bill also provides an enhanced set of rights for all tenants in the
social rented sector and gives councils stronger powers and duties to
tackle local housing needs.

However, Mr Kirby criticised the reform plans, saying it was based around
the executive's policy of stock transfer of housing out of local authority
control.

He said that the concentration on housing transfer meant that many of the
bill's most welcome reforms were "contradicted".

He said: "On homelessness for example, the strategic responsibility for
homelessness is to be with local councils, but those that have given away
all their houses will have to set up complex contracts with housing
associations and others to deliver their aims.

"Far from providing 'new solutions to old problems' as the minister says,
in parts of Scotland, whole stock transfer will deliver us back to the bad
old days before council housing.

"(It is) reducing the choice of tenure, increasing social exclusion and
increasing the cost of housing and therefore rents."

Mr Kirby claimed that in Glasgow, for example, most tenants would rather
their homes remained under local authority control.

'One-sided propaganda'

He said: "Despite the concentrated propaganda being thrown at tenants by
the Glasgow Housing Association it is still the case that most Glasgow
tenants want to stay with the council.

"That is the reason why the tenants ballot has been put off yet again.

"The GHA will now spend even more public money on one-sided propaganda -
money that could be used to refurbish Scotland's houses."

END FORWARD

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