§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from the Shetland Islands council about the proposed transfer of ownership of Scottish Special Housing Association houses in the Shetland Islands; and what is his policy towards the transfer of all or any of those houses to the Shetland Islands council at the request of tenants concerned.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonShetland Islands council has recently written to the Scottish Development Department indicating that it wishes to discuss whether appropriate arrangements could be made for the transfer to it of Scottish Special Housing Association houses in the Shetland Islands. I wish to give full consideration to the particular circumstances of this request and to the views of all the interests concerned, including the SSHA as owners and the tenants. I am not, therefore, in a position to indicate our likely response to the inquiry from Shetland Islands council.