The Highland’s budget leader is optimistic there is a long-term solution to tackling the authority’s £200 million housing debt after meeting with a senior UK Treasury minister in London yesterday.
Councillor Alister MacKinnon said he was “hopeful of a way forward” following promising discussions with MP John Glen, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
Mr MacKinnon travelled to London with council leader Margaret Davidson to hold talks with Mr Glen in relation to reducing, or even scrapping, the long-standing debt.
Following the meeting, the budget leader said: “I am certainly happy and very encouraged with the way the talks went.
“The Treasury has now sanctioned high-level discussions to take place with our finance officials and myself regarding the housing debt.
“These will take place in the coming weeks, although unfortunately they will not factor in with the budget decisions that are to be made by the council.
“I am more hopeful there can be a way forward.”
As well as discussing the case for writing off some or all of Highland Council’s housing debt, discussions may also include ways of “rescheduling” the debt, including reducing the rate of interest.
The local authority is hopeful that any reduction in annual repayments will enable reinvestment in public services throughout the region.
Loan charges on the housing debt are around £20million a year.
Nearly 40 pence in every £1 of rent income received by the council is needed to service the housing debt.
The councillors are hoping they will get a similar outcome as Shetland Islands Council whose £20million debt was written off.
Shetland Council was successful in this matter as they built many houses in the 1970s for the oil and gas sector, and this is also the case in Highland.
Mr MacKinnon and Mrs Davidson also met Lord Duncan, the parliamentary under secretary of state for Scotland to update him on progress being made on the Inverness and Highland City Region Deal.
They also raised the matter of Brexit and the implications this will have on the UK government’s potential support for tourism.
In addition, discussions took place on how the government can contribute to accelerating the roll out of broadband across the region.
