Housing stock ballot underway

All
80,000 tenants of Glasgow City Council’s houses have been sent ballot papers on
the proposal to transfer management of their homes to the independent Glasgow
Housing Association (GHA).

The
proposal has been beset with controversy including allegations of government
bribes with the Treasury offering to wipe out the city’s £1 billion housing
debt and the Scottish executive offering an additional £400 million on
condition that the tenants vote to proceed with the transfer.  The GHA’s own financial plans were rejected
by the council’s staff as ill advised.

Protest
groups have accused the Scottish executive and the council of engaging in a
propaganda war rather than fully informing tenants of all the implications of
the move.

Results
of the ballot are expected to be announced on 5 April 2002.