05 September 2003
Glasgow City Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to take responsibility for the development funding of new and improved homes.
The council will take over from executive agency Communities Scotland and will have a new strategic role in the planning of housing investment in the city.
The change, announced by communities minister Margaret Curran and Glasgow council leader Charles Gordon, is worth £82m this year and follows the transfer of council homes to the new Glasgow Housing Association (GHA).
A total of 14 Communities Scotland staff will be seconded to the council for up to two years to ensure an uninterrupted service for community-based housing associations and their tenants.
The announcement is in line with the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.
Curran said the successful transfer of council housing into community ownership had brought an unprecedented opportunity to make lasting improvements across the city.
By directly managing the investment, the council would now rightly take the central role in planning housing investment in the city.
Gordon said: 'This is a red-letter day for Glasgow. The transfer of our stock to the GHA has cleared the path to allow us to take a more strategic role in social housing activities.'
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