THE Scottish Labour Party last night launched an inquiry into the letting of a house to the mother of a former councillor.
Mrs Susan Dalgety, deputy leader of City of Edinburgh Council, said: ''There are serious concerns raised by this. The Labour Party at Keir Hardie House is considering the reports over the weekend because of the nature of these concerns. It will then go to the full council on May 28.''
The investigation started after Councillor David Brown put a hold on the letting of a house in the Newcraighall area until he could make representations to the house letting sub committee.
He later addressed a meeting asking them to let the house to Mrs Catherine McVey, mother of former Lothian region councillor Paul Nolan. But he failed to reveal he knew Mrs McVey or that she was Mr Nolan's mother.
This was described by Mr Gavin Anderson, the council's solicitor, as a ''serious breach'' of both the code of conduct for councillors and the Nolan Report on standards.
During the two-month long inquiry, he and Dr Ralph Musgrave, the council's monitoring officer, discovered that Mrs McVey was ninth on the list for the house in Newcraighall and she jumped over eight others to get the tenancy after Councillor Brown's intervention.
Top of the queue, Mrs Christina Farquhar, 59, who is disabled, remains in her unsuitable home in Craigmillar.
Mr Anderson cleared housing officials of any blame for the situation and laid it all on Councillor Brown.
He said: ''I am satisfied that Councillor Brown's actions were seriously ill-judged and inappropriate.
''Decisions on the allocation of housing, awarding of points, and priority should be made by officials. It would bring the authority into line with the practice of the majority of other authorities.''
In his findings, Dr Musgrave stated: ''There appears little doubt that the process followed was flawed and was not soundly based to ensure that a just and equitable decision emerged.
''Nor would the procedure be seen by the public at large as fair. It is my view, therefore, that the process represents maladministration which could have led to injustice.''
Tory Councillor Ian Berry said he was going to report the matter to the local government Ombudsman.
He added: ''Depending on how it is handled at the full council meeting, I may go to the Court of Session for a judicial review of procedures.''
Councillor Berry, who represents the Newcraighall area, went on: ''It is intolerable that any councillor can interfere to delay the letting of a house and then have it allocated to somebody he knows and who does not have the medical points for that house.
''This report contains no recommendations for resolving the matter. Mrs Farquhar is still in the house in Craigmillar which is absolutely unsuitable for her. I would have thought the report should have pointed the way to giving her some recompense.''
Councillor Brown was unavailable for comment.
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