EAST has used the press coverage to call upon the political leaders across Edinburgh to unite and call for the cancellation of the existing housing debt and to demand that the Scottish Executive ensure that there is direct investment in council housing. Edinburgh Against Stock Transfer TENANTS VOTE NO TO TRANSFER NOW INVEST IN OUR HOMES Despite a barrage of propaganda thrown at every tenant across this city they have rejected the privatisation of their homes. This sends a clear message that tenants refuse to accept the blackmail that links a change of landlord with investment in their homes. We call upon the political leaders of this city to respect the wishes of the tenants. The city councillors, MSP’s and MP’s should remember who elected them and join us and take the case to the Scottish Executive to demand: • The existing debt of councils should be written off without the need for transfer. Existing tenants should not be made to pay for the historic debt of others incurred by others (under the right to buy programme, see below). • There should be direct investment in council housing with no strings attached. • The rules for prudential borrowing should be relaxed to allow more councils to borrow. Notes Debt write off The Executive said that they would write off the historic debt of the Housing Department if there was a change of landlord. The money is there and we believe that it should be used to cancel the debt of the Housing Department. Council homes that were brought under the right to buy scheme passed their debt on to the Housing Department. Why should the tenants of Edinburgh be made to pay for the historic debt of others? The Scottish Executive will not allow debt write-off for councils, only for stock transfers. The Scottish Executive are motivated by an agreement with Westminster that only allows them to transfer the written off debt to Westminster in the case of stock transfer. This an extremely wasteful and damaging interference in devolved powers to manage housing affairs Prudential borrowing Prudential borrowing allows councils to raise “capital� (money for building or investment) by borrowing for themselves from the banks rather than borrowing it from the Treasury (the Government). The current set of rules mean that very few councils are allowed to use this option. Edinburgh is one of the councils that has been unable to access money via this route. EAST PRESS CONFERENCE THURSDAY 15TH DECEMBER, 12 NOON ICT CENTRE, HOLYROOD COURT, DUMBIEDYKES ROAD