Highland and Islands MSP Jean Urquhart has welcomed the announcement of extra funding for Shetland Islands Council to help the transition from its traditional model of council housing funding.
Following the abolition of the Housing Support Grant from April 2013 for Shetland Islands Council, the last local authority area to receive it, the Scottish Government has reached a deal with Shetland Islands Council to provide £840,000 of funding until the end of the Parliamentary term.
Jean, an Independent Highlands and Islands MSP, said:
“I was delighted to hear that the Scottish Government and Shetland Islands Council have reached an agreement on an issue that was causing concern in the Islands.
“I was equally pleased that the Scottish Government listened to the concerns of local tenants and put in place a package that will help the Council in tough economic times.
“We must now focus our attentions on holding Westminster to their promise of writing off Shetland’s historic housing debt, whose repayments continues to cripple both the housing situation and Shetland’s finances as a whole.”
Jean Urquhart 