Forth's 36th AGM sees continued focus on positive wellbeing outcomes

Forth extended a warm welcome to its members at their 36th AGM at The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum on the 5th of September.

The AGM provided an opportunity for members to hear how Forth have been performing over the last year and to receive the latest set of annual accounts. It also gave members, staff and tenants an opportunity to view the local gallery and museum which is the current home to the world’s oldest football!

During the AGM, Forth were also delighted to announce the election of five new members to their Management Committee. Andrea Mina, Elaine Rosie, Jillian Fernside, Hazel Robertson and Kerray Dawson were all elected to the committee, all of whom bring a wealth of knowledge and experience of housing.

The association also said a fond farewell to four other members: Alistair Hutton, Heather Arthur, James Bryce, Kirsty Morrison and Lyndsay Moffat departed their roles, bringing the committee membership to 12 out of the possible 15 positions.

As well as the election of new committee members, the AGM also heard from Forth's Chair, Ann Dickson, about the association's delight at achieving compliance with the regulatory standards this year.

Ann Dickson, Chair of Forth said: “The staff, committee and tenants were very focused on making the changes necessary to achieve compliance and we are immensely grateful for all their hard work”.

Forth continue building a strong track record in good governance and accountability, however like all other housing associations they understand there are wider economic challenges facing the sector and look to continue to deliver further improvements in services to their tenants in light of these challenges.

Among the guests at the AGM, was SFHA's Housing Management and Community Investment policy lead, Annabel Pidgeon, who delivered an informative presentation on the key issues for the social housing sector in Scotland.

Sharon Brady-Wardrope, Director of Forth said: “Whilst the financial landscape was bleak with the recent announcement from the Scottish Government of spending cuts up to £500m from the budget across all sectors, and the UK government warning that the October budget will be painful, there was still some positives to focus on.

"One being the resilience of the sector to continue to deliver vital services to our tenants and the continued delivery of vital adaptations whilst waiting for funding announcements as well as bringing in hundreds of thousands of pounds of additional benefits for our tenants”