31 October 2009

Aberdeen Central Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald today welcomed Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop’s support for student housing issues to be addressed by Aberdeen City Council, the city’s two universities and its Student Associations.

Lewis Macdonald said: "The sheer number of students coming to study in Aberdeen has put real pressure on university residences and single person accommodation.

"I asked the Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop today if she agreed that Local Authorities like Aberdeen City Council should be discussing the issue directly with universities and Student Associations.

"She agreed and strongly urged Aberdeen City Council to just that, and said that similar initiatives in Edinburgh had made a real difference.

"It is important that pressures on student accommodation do not turn into a wider housing problem, or put pressure on the relationship between students and the wider community.

"I am therefore writing to the Corporate Director for Housing at Aberdeen City Council, and to Aberdeen’s two universities and their Student Associations to make sure that the short term problems in Aberdeen this year do not turn into something more serious in the longer term."