Housing Management and Community Investment - November

1. Welcome –  Dawn Chalmers, Chair, Osprey HA
   
    
2. Note of last meeting: forum-notes-august.docx

3. Housing Bill update – Susie Fitton, Policy Manager, SFHA

SFHA’s Policy Manager will provide a brief presentation on the Housing Bill, which received royal assent on 6 November. Susie will present on key changes for Housing Management and discuss what must still be introduced in regulations. 

4. Peer to Peer & Member-led Practice Sharing – All

An opportunity for attendees to share their questions and practice with one another: is there something you’ re looking for peer advice on? Any challenges you would like help with? Or recent successes you can share?

5. Comfort Break

6. Consultation – Annabel Pidgeon, Policy Lead, SFHA

The Scottish Government has recently opened a consultation on the Temporary Accommodation Standards Framework. Annabel will briefly outline the consultation and seek member input on an SFHA response. Key questions for the forum are:

• Are current standards sufficient (i.e. physical, location, service, and management standards), or do they require changes to be fit for purpose?
• What are the challenges in delivering TA (e.g., cost, support)? Should the TASF be legally enforced?
• What forms of/approaches to temporary accommodation work best for RSLs? Do members have views on Scottish Government investing further in TA?

7. Section 5 Research Update (3:10-3:25) 
   
    

SFHA commissioned North Star Consulting to explore Section 5 referral data, its effectiveness and limitations, and to quantify the full contributions of RSLs to tackling / preventing homelessness. Annabel will preview the (pre-publication) results with the forum and seek input on how to contextualise and use the research results effectively.

8. SFHA Policy Update (3:25-3:40)

9. Housing Management Conference (3.40-3.55)

We are seeking requests and content suggestions from the forum for SFHA’s 2026 Housing Management Conference. What topics would you like covered? What would you like to learn more about? Plus any/all other requests — ideas welcome for this brainstorm. 

10.  AOB