Submission History: Motion by Councillor Soryia Siddique:- "Council notes: that the cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating the housing crisis being felt in the City, and across the Country; that the number of empty homes is likely to increase during the current crisis; that renters, prior to the rent freeze, face huge pressures and mortgaged homeowners are also likely to see huge pressures to their incomes due to spiking interest rates; and that homelessness is a continuing challenge in the City, which necessitates increasing the supply of homes in the social rented sector. Council believes that rising energy costs, which adds further fuel to these pressures faced by renters and homeowners alike, demonstrates the moral and financial imperative to scale-up retrofitting and the implementation of energy efficiency measures, in addition to generating our energy that meets our net-zero targets. Council is therefore disappointed to note that between 2017/18 and 2021/22, this Council has only spent 52% of the Energy Efficiency Scotland: Area Based Schemes (EES:ABS) funding available to it - meaning that £11.4m has gone unspent in the City; notes that this is significantly below the Scottish average over the same period and further notes that in the four years prior the total underspend amounted to just £542,732. Council believes that this lost funding represents a significant missed opportunity for the City and its Citizens. Council does, however, also note the success of the national Empty Homes Partnership which led to the creation of several Empty Homes Officers and the Empty Homes Strategy. However, Council believes that these efforts need to be stepped up and further supported in the face of the current crisis. Therefore, Council resolves to establish a Glasgow Empty Homes Working Group, led by GCC and with representation from Wheatley Group and other RSLs, the Health and Social Care Partnership, the third sector and others. This working group should be established with clear terms of reference and should submit a Draft Action Plan to the relevant CPC by April 2023. This action plan should reiterate to the Scottish Government this Council's long-standing position in favour of the creation of Compulsory Sales Orders. Council also considers that this report should outline the Council's proposed actions to address the significant shortfall in utilising the EES:ABS funding, including identifying the skills gaps in the Glasgow Workforce to ensure that as many Glasgow citizens as possible are able to take advantage of the opportunities presented by retrofitting and the implementation of energy efficiency measures. Council considers that one of the primary mechanisms available to it is by continuing to support City Building and making best use of its expertise. Further, Council resolves to write to the Scottish Government to reiterate its support for the Scottish Government's belated rent freeze, express its support for the rent freeze to be extended, however notes that Registered Social Landlords will require additional funding from the Scottish Government to ensure that vital maintenance and investment in their housing stock continues." Help Icon

This is the history for the submission "Motion by Councillor Soryia Siddique:- "Council notes: that the cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating the housing crisis being felt in the City, and across the Country; that the number of empty homes is likely to increase during the current crisis; that renters, prior to the rent freeze, face huge pressures and mortgaged homeowners are also likely to see huge pressures to their incomes due to spiking interest rates; and that homelessness is a continuing challenge in the City, which necessitates increasing the supply of homes in the social rented sector. Council believes that rising energy costs, which adds further fuel to these pressures faced by renters and homeowners alike, demonstrates the moral and financial imperative to scale-up retrofitting and the implementation of energy efficiency measures, in addition to generating our energy that meets our net-zero targets. Council is therefore disappointed to note that between 2017/18 and 2021/22, this Council has only spent 52% of the Energy Efficiency Scotland: Area Based Schemes (EES:ABS) funding available to it - meaning that £11.4m has gone unspent in the City; notes that this is significantly below the Scottish average over the same period and further notes that in the four years prior the total underspend amounted to just £542,732. Council believes that this lost funding represents a significant missed opportunity for the City and its Citizens. Council does, however, also note the success of the national Empty Homes Partnership which led to the creation of several Empty Homes Officers and the Empty Homes Strategy. However, Council believes that these efforts need to be stepped up and further supported in the face of the current crisis. Therefore, Council resolves to establish a Glasgow Empty Homes Working Group, led by GCC and with representation from Wheatley Group and other RSLs, the Health and Social Care Partnership, the third sector and others. This working group should be established with clear terms of reference and should submit a Draft Action Plan to the relevant CPC by April 2023. This action plan should reiterate to the Scottish Government this Council's long-standing position in favour of the creation of Compulsory Sales Orders. Council also considers that this report should outline the Council's proposed actions to address the significant shortfall in utilising the EES:ABS funding, including identifying the skills gaps in the Glasgow Workforce to ensure that as many Glasgow citizens as possible are able to take advantage of the opportunities presented by retrofitting and the implementation of energy efficiency measures. Council considers that one of the primary mechanisms available to it is by continuing to support City Building and making best use of its expertise. Further, Council resolves to write to the Scottish Government to reiterate its support for the Scottish Government's belated rent freeze, express its support for the rent freeze to be extended, however notes that Registered Social Landlords will require additional funding from the Scottish Government to ensure that vital maintenance and investment in their housing stock continues."".

It shows every meeting that the submission went before and links to the agenda for those meetings.


Committee Meeting View Agenda
Glasgow City Council 08/12/2022 Click here