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New CEO Mary Taylor (pictured) is looking forward to her first annual conference in charge of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) in what will be a crucial year for affordable housing.
The Federation’s annual event on 7th-8th September, called “New Beginnings, Fresh Challenges,” will see affordable housing providers from across Scotland gather to hear from speakers and debate the most acute issues facing them as the country tries to respond to both demand for more homes, and the need for quality homes which meet people’s needs.
Mary Taylor, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing, previously taught at Stirling University and has worked or volunteered with several housing associations over the years.
Mary Taylor, Chief Executive of the SFHA, said:
“Having recently taken the helm at SFHA, I am looking forward to my first conference immensely. We all know the economic situation will constrain what housing providers can do, and there has never been a greater demand for affordable homes, now is the time for us to look together at innovative solutions.
“We have a high calibre of speakers this year from policy, politics and the media, and we’ll cover topics from the economic context to the ageing population. Tim Campbell of The Apprentice who will give his insights into social enterprise and I’m also delighted to welcome Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil back to conference.”
The conference will open with a welcome from SFHA Chair Lorna Paterson and Mary Taylor, before a session on the political and economic landscape of Scotland and the UK, hosted by BBC Scotland’s Brian Taylor with expert commentators George Kerevan and Hamish Macdonell.
Sarah Boyack MSP will speak on the energy efficiency agenda, and workshop sessions include the Scottish Government’s Housing Policy Discussion Paper, evictions, homelessness and tenancy sustainment, and the proposed changes to housing benefit.
The conference takes place at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel on 7 & 8 September. Email events@sfha.co.uk for more information and booking details.
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has welcomed the news today (Thursday 26th August 2010) that in the last 12 months housing associations have built the second-highest number of affordable homes in one year since devolution.
As the recession hit, associations and co-operatives increased their build-rate while the number of new homes built in the private sector slumped (by 20% in 2009-10).
• Between July 2009 and June 2010 there were 5,337 housing association and council flats and houses completed across Scotland, the second highest figure since 1982, and only exceeded by last year's record numbers.
• In 2009-10 there were 8,092 units completed by associations and co-operatives (a record under devolution).
Mary Taylor, Chief Executive of the SFHA said:
“The SFHA is proud that associations and co-operatives have continued their strong performance to June of this year in building badly-needed new affordable homes.
“The figures demonstrate that given the right resources, housing associations are well-placed to deliver quality new affordable homes in communities up and down the country. These homes support jobs, family incomes and quality of life for thousands of people in Scotland.
“This has been made possible by the Scottish Government’s accelerated funding programme and by the renewed efforts of associations to borrow privately to fund new homes. However, this is not sustainable in the longer term without a reasonable on-going financial commitment from Government.
“With the budget pressures we face from now on, we cannot expect this level of building to continue automatically next year. This means maximising capital budgets, working together and being innovative. To this end we are contributing to the Scottish Government’s discussion on the future of housing, Fresh Thinking New Ideas, which seeks to find solutions to meeting Scotland’s housing need in the future.”
I am pleased to invite you to the SFHA’s thirty-fifth Annual General Meeting, to be held at 3.30pm on Wednesday 8th September 2010 at The Thistle Hotel, Cambridge Street, Glasgow.
Registration is from 3.00pm to 3.30pm and light refreshments will be available.
Anyone is eligible to attend however please note that only Representative Members of member housing associations are entitled to participate in the formal proceedings of General Meetings and formal papers are being sent out to each member entitled to participate.
At the end of the formal business of the Annual General Meeting there will be a presentation from the new CEO, Dr Mary Taylor, on the direction of the SFHA.
Best Wishes
Andrew Field
Deputy Chief Executive
The SFHA's flagship Annual Conference programme is now available. The conference, entitled New Beginnings - Fresh Challenges, which reflects that the housing sector is entering a new chapter in its history. The conference will begin with a welcome from the SFHA's new Chief Executive and Chair before a session looking at the Political and Economic Landscape of Scotland and the UK, which will be hosted by Brian Taylor of BBC Scotland.
Other keynote speakers during the event will be Sarah Boyack MSP on the Energy Efficiency Agenda and the Ministerial Address by the Minister for Communities and Housing, Alex Neil MSP.
The conference will close with Tim Campbell, winner of the first series of TV's The Apprentice. Tim has recently set up his own social enterprise and is sure to give delegates some food for thought with his insight and ideas.
Workshop sessions at the conference will feature the topical issues including the Housing Policy Discussion Paper, evictions, homelessness and tenancy sustainment, the changing demographics of Scotland as well as a look at how housing associations can be more than just social landlords.
The conference takes place at the Glasgow Thistle Hotel on 7 & 8 September. With a hot programme and a sold out exhibition, book your place in order to ensure that you don't miss out!
Full programme details are available to download here or for further information please contact the Events Team at events@sfha.co.uk or by telephoning Anita Harvey on 0141 567 6085.
The SFHA has just published two briefings, one on the potential implications of the Housing Benefit changes announced in the Emergency Budget and the other on the wider welfare reform agenda. These can be downloaded by using the links below.
Potential impact of changes to Welfare State including Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance
Potential impact of changes to Welfare Benefits for Social Landlords and their tenants
Please read these and assess, if you can, how many of your tenants may be affected by what is proposed. Whilst we would all agree that any assistance that can be given to help people who can work into well paid sustainable employment is to be welcomed, we would prefer tenants to have a decent income and not be trapped into a dependency on benefits.
The SFHA wants to set up a Reference Group to provide views and case examples both for our new campaign around the Housing Benefit and welfare benefit changes, and for the stream of our contribution to the Housing Policy Discussion Paper debate. This debate seeks to link rent affordability, the relative effectiveness of revenue versus capital subsidy in housing, and the Housing Benefit / welfare reform agenda.
If you are interested, please email Maureen Watson (mwatson@sfha.co.uk).
Constituency - Other Urban Areas
Nominee - Teresa McNally
Company - Ochil View Housing Association
Nominated by - William George Tainsh
Voluntary Committee Member - Yes
Elected/Ballot Required - Ballot Required*
Constituency - Other Urban Areas
Nominee - Mairi Brown
Company - East Kilbride HA
Nominated by - Jean McDonald
Elected/Ballot Required - Ballot Required*
Constituency - Rural and Islands
Nominee - Gordon Mitchell
Company - Hjaltland HA
Nominated by - Robin Sandison
Voluntary Committee Member - Yes
Elected/Ballot Required - Nominated
Constituency - City of Glasgow
Nominee - Wilma Masterton
Company - Glasgow Housing Association
Nominated by - Sandra Forsythe
Voluntary Committee Member - Yes
Elected/Ballot Required - Nominated
Constituency - Other Cities
Nominee - Steven Black
Company - Tenants First Housing Co-operative
Nominated by - Sandy Murray
Voluntary Committee Member - Yes
Elected/Ballot Required - Ballot Required*
Constituency - Other Cities
Nominee - Ewan Fraser
Company - Dunedin Canmore HA
Nominated by - Craig Sanderson
Elected/Ballot Required - Ballot Required*
*Where there is more than one nomination for any one constituency ballot papers will be sent out to each organisation within that constituency.
The closing date for receipt of ballot papers is 2.30pm on Friday, 20th August 2010.
There is one ballot paper per organisation.
Thirty years on from Margaret Thatcher's decision to give council tenants the right to buy the house they had been renting, research conducted by the University of St Andrews suggests the scheme has failed to mobilise the workforce as expected.
Dr Maarten Van Ham of the Centre for Housing Research, an expert in the area of neighbourhoods and housing said:
"The right to buy has given many households access to home ownership, but not to better places, so what have they gained? It concerns me that many are stuck in the same house and the same neighbourhood".
SFHA Policy &
Strategy Manager Andy Young said that it’s worth learning the lessons of the past on Right to Buy,
particularly as the Housing (Scotland) Bill goes through parliament.
He said:
“The view of housing associations is that Right to Buy has no place in an affordable rented sector that is struggling to meet the growing housing needs of Scotland’s population. The stark fact is that demand for rented homes is now far outstripping supply.
“Although currently the subject of an exemption, in October 2012 around 30,000 housing association homes, most newly built and many scarce larger family homes, (which were the most popular in terms of sales when Right to Buy was introduced back in 1980) will for the first time become subject to the Modernised Right to Buy.
“We see this as a terrific opportunity for the Scottish Government to go further and end the Modernised Right to Buy for housing association tenants. If this happened 30,000 properties at the popular end of the scale, would immediately be protected without the loss of existing rights.”
To read the report click http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2010/Title,53592,en.html
The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum has published its first annual report.
The SFHA’s representative on the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum, David Ogilvie (Policy & Strategy Manager) said:
“We welcome the publication of this report, which is a fair and frank account of the achievements of and the challenges that have faced the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum in the first full year of the Energy Assistance Package and the Home Insulation Scheme.”
“In the context of rising domestic fuel prices coupled with proposed swingeing cuts in public spending by the UK government, and the consequent financial and policy challenges that will face the Scottish Government, local authorities and housing associations, it has to be said that currently the prospects of meeting the 2016 Fuel Poverty target look rather bleak.
“As the voice of Scotland’s housing associations on the Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum, the SFHA continues to push for radical action to address the ongoing plight of Scotland’s fuel poor. At such a time of fiscal austerity, the concept of “spend to save” needs to be embedded into Scottish Government and local authority thinking on tackling fuel poverty. We believe that investing more in tackling fuel poverty now, whether that be rolling out advice and access to social tariffs or insulation for homes, is what will deliver real efficiency savings for the public purse.
To download a copy of the report click here
As part of the SFHA's service improvement programme, we are accelerating the development of the new SFHA website and we hope to have this with you in the near future.
If you would like more information or have any queries, please contact: sfha@sfha.co.uk
The SFHA has welcomed launch of Scottish Government consultation ‘Wider Planning for an Ageing Population’.
Last summer, the Scottish Government, COSLA and the NHS established the ‘Reshaping Care for Older People’ programme which aimed to engage all interests in reshaping care and support services in order to meet policy objectives in a sustainable manner. The programme consists of eight work streams, including one on housing and communities, known as Wider Planning for an Ageing Population.
On 29th June, the SG launched consultation on the report produced by the Wider Planning for an Ageing Population stakeholder working group. The report provides details of the approach taken to the work stream, the issues and draft outcomes discussed and the suggested actions.
David Ogilvie, SFHA Policy & Strategy Manager said:
"The SFHA is pleased to have played a major role in the completion of this report. This is a very significant consultation for the sector, given the scale of the demographic changes we are facing, and the fact that we are going to have to make tough choices in the current financial environment. The report outlines the actions we, as a sector and with our strategic partners, must take now and over the coming years to ensure we continue to meet the housing and support needs of our older people. This is vital work, and we are encouraging members to give us their views. "
Consultation on this important report will run from 29th June until 29th September 2010. You can read more on the SFHA website here http://www.sfha.co.uk/index.php?pg=50&id=147
The SFHA Board has taken the decision to publish all non-confidential Board Minutes and EGM Minutes on the SFHA website. In order to access the minutes, please select from the list below. Please note that Board Meetings take place every quarter and that minutes will be posted once they have been ratified at the next Board meeting. In addition, non-confidential Board Papers may be available by requesting information from kcolburn@sfha.co.uk
Ahead of today’s debate on the Housing (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament, (Wednesday 23rd June 2010), the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) is calling for amendments to simplify and strengthen the proposed legislation on restricting Right to Buy and regulating social housing providers.
The SFHA said removing the potential to charge the sector for regulation and extending the sector’s exemption form the Modernised Right to Buy would fit the Bill – keeping red tape to a minimum and preserving vital affordable housing stock.
The Bill proposes some restrictions on the Right to Buy, including ending it for new properties and new tenants, but the SFHA is calling for it to go further and scrap the Modernised Right to Buy (introduced in 2002) for housing associations and co-operatives. Associations and co-ops currently enjoy a ten-year exemption from the legislation which ends in 2012.
Andrew Field, Acting Chief Executive of the SFHA, said:
“The SFHA is very pleased that the Government and MSPs are moving to curb the Right to Buy which has resulted in such a drain on Scotland’s affordable housing stock. We also welcome plans for a Social Housing Charter with strong tenant involvement.
“We look forward to the parliamentary debate on the Bill tomorrow, and are appealing to MSPs in advance to ensure the Scottish Housing Regulator has sufficient resources to do its job, and remove the potential plans for charging affordable housing providers for regulation – which could well impact on tenants’ rents.
“We also want the housing sector to keep its exemption from the Modernised Right to Buy, which would not interfere with any existing tenants’ rights and would retain thousands of high-quality affordable homes for the future.
“Protecting affordable housing supply and simplifying red tape for Scotland’s housing providers makes sense and is particularly important in this era of belt tightening.”
When the Modernised Right to Buy was introduced in 2002, housing associations were granted a ten-year exemption which expires in September 2012. Because of this exemption, the SFHA contends that these tenants do not currently have any Right to Buy.
There is an opportunity to extend the proposed reforms by removing then Modernised Right to Buy from housing associations and co-operatives, in order to preserve valuable social housing stock.
If the Modernised Right to Buy was scrapped, or the housing association exemption extended beyond 2012, then up to 80,000 properties – mainly built during the past 15 years – would immediately be protected without the loss of any existing tenant rights.
David Bookbinder, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said:
Even allowing for the Scottish Government’s revised, lower forecast for post-2012 sales, CIH Scotland believes that at a time when housing expenditure over the next 10 years is expected to reduce sharply, it makes no sense to newly give the RTB to any tenant who does not currently have it.”
“CIH recognises that historically, RTB has had some positive impacts in creating mixed communities, but we believe that the priority now must be to retain as much as possible of the remaining rented housing stock. We would prefer to see a re-examination of the former Tenants Incentive Scheme, as floated in the Scottish Government’s recent Housing Discussion document. This scheme will bring immediate relets and could be a cost effective use of public money.”
The SFHA has produced a briefing note for members on the main contents of yesterday’s Emergency Budget announced by the UK Chancellor George Osborne.
The packed programme of “austerity measures” was nonetheless intended to confirm the Government’s aim that while “everyone will pay something,” the lowest paid and most vulnerable groups would be protected.
Headlines included a VAT increase to 20%, £11bn welfare cuts, the restoration of the link between pensions and earnings, an increase in the personal income tax allowance and a cut on corporation tax.
On the changes to Housing Benefit, Andrew Field, Acting Chief Executive of the SFHA said:
“SFHA would welcome any changes to Housing Benefit that simplify the system, but any cuts in the housing benefit budget must not be at the expense of the most underprivileged members of society, who are often tenants of social landlords."
"Approximately two thirds of housing association tenants in Scotland are recipients of housing benefit. Currently the Scottish Parliament enjoys devolved housing powers in all respects other than housing benefit. The SFHA has long called for housing benefit to be brought within the control of the Scottish Government.
“We would also call for capital spending on building more new affordable homes to be maintained, which will help the economy.”
Responding to the UK Government’s
emergency Budget, CIH Scotland Chair Jim Strang said:
“The Budget brings Scotland and the rest of the UK a significant step
closer to the grim reality round the corner. We may have to accept
that the cake will be smaller but housing must at the very least retain
its share of that cake.”
“It seems likely that providers will increasingly be exploring new
provision – such as mid-market rent – which uses less public funding
but meets genuine need. But our greatest challenge will still be to
maximise social rented supply. If there is to be less new build, then
issues such as how we use our relets will become more important than
ever.”
For a copy of the briefing, click here http://www.sfha.co.uk/site/documents/1966.doc
