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Stop borrowing money and start repairing homes – former tenant spokesman slams Highland Council

Frank Drake accused Highland Council of 'gaslighting' tenants over finance worries. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Frank Drake accused Highland Council of 'gaslighting' tenants over finance worries. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Frank Drake resigned from the tenants strategic finance group (TSFG) over fears about escalating debts.

A former quality assurance expert, Mr Drake says the council’s spending is “not sustainable, affordable or prudent”.

However, he says Highland Council ignored the views of the TSFG, leading to the resignation of Mr Drake as vice-chair and Allan Tubb as chairman.

“We spent a decade trying to get Highland Council to recognise that it had to curb borrowing,” says Mr Drake.

“The housing revenue account (HRA) is £400 million in debt. Forty pence of every pound tenants pay in rent goes to servicing that debt – that’s 70% above the Scottish average.

“The HRA is drowning in its own debt. It’s a shambles.”

New survey: Need to tackle the stigma around social housing.
Highland Council has paused all non-essential repairs to get housing budgets back on track.

In the current financial year, the HRA account is projecting a £3 million overspend. In a bid to get back on track, councillors recently agreed to suspend all non-essential repairs on council houses.

Mr Drake says tenants are paying the price for the council’s poor decisions.

“Many of Highland Council’s houses suffer from damp and black mould, but there’s no money to fix the problem, so the tenant’s lifestyle is blamed to avoid accepting that there is a problem,” he says.

“I find it strange that the council continues to borrow to build new houses when they can’t even afford to maintain their current stock effectively.”

Gaslighting claims

Mr Drake says the TSFG repeatedly voiced their worries to Highland Council housing bosses, but their concerns went unheard.

“We were victims of gaslighting,” he says. “They weren’t transparent, you couldn’t get information, you couldn’t get answers to questions.”

Mr Drake has referred his complaints to Audit Scotland, who in turn passed the matter back to Highland Council auditors.

A spokesperson for Highland Council said it can’t comment on Mr Drake’s specific case.

However, they say they provided detailed responses over the last 12 months, and their tenant engagement process is externally verified by the Scottish Housing Regulator.

The spokesperson said: “The Highland Council prioritise tenant engagement, to which it has a strong and commended track record.

“The 2022-23 tenant consultation survey is in its final week. As part of the consultation all housing tenants have been contacted and provided details on how rent money is spent and outlined options for future rent levels.

“The feedback from the consultation, including rent levels, will be brought to the January meeting of the housing and property committee.”

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