Orkney and Shetland Labour
12 June 2019
Scottish Labour has used a parliamentary debate to demand action to support more housing co-operatives in order to tackle Scotland’s housing crisis.
Scotland has just 11 registered housing co-ops, compared to 685 across the UK, at a time when 150,000 people are on council house waiting lists.
Johann Lamont MSP highlighted the figures during a members’ debate in the Scottish Parliament, which are featured in the Co-operatives UK report Shared space – how Scottish housing co-ops build communities.
Johann Lamont MSP said:
“The Scottish Government and councils across the country should fully commit to promoting the housing co-op model.
“Housing co-operatives are not just about bricks and mortar; they are about empowering people.
“Housing providers should not be doing things to tenants - tenants should have a fair say and a role in decisions affecting them and their communities.
"With housing co-operatives, that is what happens – they help build communities by giving people a say in what happens where they live, by sharing power and wealth.”
Scottish Labour has used a parliamentary debate to demand action to support more housing co-operatives in order to tackle Scotland’s housing crisis.
Scotland has just 11 registered housing co-ops, compared to 685 across the UK, at a time when 150,000 people are on council house waiting lists.
Johann Lamont MSP highlighted the figures during a members’ debate in the Scottish Parliament, which are featured in the Co-operatives UK report Shared space – how Scottish housing co-ops build communities.
Johann Lamont MSP said:
“The Scottish Government and councils across the country should fully commit to promoting the housing co-op model.
“Housing co-operatives are not just about bricks and mortar; they are about empowering people.
“Housing providers should not be doing things to tenants - tenants should have a fair say and a role in decisions affecting them and their communities.
"With housing co-operatives, that is what happens – they help build communities by giving people a say in what happens where they live, by sharing power and wealth.”