Report to the People
Passing of the Housing Bill
Words like "momentous" and "landmark" are overused in politics.
But last Wednesday, perhaps, deserves this accolade more than most. After a marathon eight hour session and sixty nine votes, the first Scottish Housing Bill in thirteen years was passed by the Scottish Parliament.
Although by far the longest and most technical piece of legislation in the Parliament's history, the debate was far from dull. Quality social housing is the key to a strong community and is central to the Government's anti-poverty programme. And, while the arguments have been well rehearsed over the past two years, passions have not waned and this was at times a lively and contentious debate.
But, when the fog of battle clears, we will see that we now have the means to bring Scotland's housing into the 21st Century.
Rights are at the heart of the bill. Rights over the setting of rents, repairs and improvements; the right to have your say; the right of another fifty thousand housing association tenants to buy their home; the right to be free from the menace of anti-social neighbours; and the right of homeless people to some form of accommodation.
In Greenock and Inverclyde, the bill will allow the council to have a more strategic role in housing and help local housing reflect our particular needs.
The challenge is to sweep away unpopular, rejected properties and deliver houses that people actually want to occupy in areas in which they actually want to live.
The aim of the bill is to redress the balance between the rights of tenants and the rights of landlords. And the test of whether we hit the target is whether tenants feel they are able to influence the service they receive from their landlords and whether people who become homeless feel that they have a system working for and not against them.
It is clear, if you will pardon the cliché, that much still needs to be done. Delivering decent social housing in Greenock and Inverclyde will require efforts from every quarter, but I believe this bill gives us the tools for the job.
Ultimately, though, this bill will be judged on whether or not in ten years' time Inverclyde's tenants live in warm comfortable homes which enhance our community.
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