Commenting on City Building LLP losing one of the three new GHA maintenance contracts, Cllr Craig Mackay, the SNP representative on the Board of City Building commented: "This is devastating news. Not only will it impact on City Building’s core operations, this is a blow to Stephen Purcell's apprenticeship strategy. Labour have based key policy commitments, like the apprenticeships, on LLPs – but at the same time, failed to realise that forcing departments to compete on the open market means that any policy commitments are ultimately dependent on market conditions.

"The loss of the contact shows that the organisations created from former council departments aren’t “one big happy family” as Purcell would have us believe. The administration have trumpeted the success of City Building LLP – it underpins the arguments for departmental hive-offs. It’s ironic, and frightening, that on the same day as DACs is removed from council control, Labour’s flagship LLP loses up to 300 jobs.

"City Building is on course to return a surplus of £7m to the council this year. This is highly unlikely to be possible in future, and will have to result in cuts to public services somewhere along the line. This is the inevitable consequence of the separation of housing from council control."