Communities Scotland today published its report into the Glasgow Housing Association and laid the blame on the GHAs failure to progress community ownership (known as second stage transfer) firmly at the feet of the old Labour / Lib Dem administration at Holyrood.

Commenting on this Bob Doris MSP said: "The report says that the GHA attempted to achieve SST within the 'financial limits and conditions set at the time of transfer' and that it was given 'no clear operational policy or timescale for delivering SST'.

"In other words the GHA was, from day one, unfocussed and unprepared for one of its most core and fundamental functions, to make community ownership a reality. The Scottish Labour Party with its new leader, Wendy Alexander, must take the blame for these shortcomings and apologise for their incompetence in organising the Glasgow Housing Stock Transfer. Wendy Alexander was actually Communities Minister back in the first parliament and was one of the main architects of this incompetence".

The Communities Scotland report also criticised the relationship the GHA has with owner occupiers and in dealing with customer complaints in general.

Bob Doris MSP said: "This is a wake up call for the GHA with regard to how it treats complaints and deals with owner occupiers that are struggling to pay huge bills dumped on them by the GHA.

"The GHA must now immediately review the decision to insist that owner occupiers on modest incomes have to pay massive bills that they cannot afford within one year.

"I have repeatedly called for repayment plans to be over a number of years and the GHA must stop hiding behind its charitable status and show some compassion to may vulnerable owner occupiers."