Guidance on the operation of Local Authority Housing Revenue Accounts (HRAs) in Scotland

SECTION 10: REVIEWING AND MONITORING THE APPLICATION OF THIS HRA GUIDANCE

133. This HRA guidance will be kept under review in the following respects:

a) it will reflect any policy changes Scottish Ministers might wish to implement regarding council housing and/or the operation of the HRA

b) it will reflect any future changes in Scottish or UK legislation which significantly affect the operation of HRAs including any possible future decisions of Scottish Ministers to issue statutory guidance on the HRA specifically or on issues relating to local authority finance more widely

c) it will reflect changes in the accounting codes of practice as they affect the financing of council housing services in Scotland

d) it will reflect any regulatory changes regarding local authority housing for example in relation to the Scottish Social Housing Charter which is itself periodically reviewed

134. Scottish Government will continue to monitor the use and relevance of this Guidance in consultation with RTOs, local authorities, Audit Scotland and will engage with CIPFA on matters of best practice.

135. As laid out in Table 1, though Scottish Government is responsible for setting out policy on the HRA it is not responsible for investigating tenants' (or others') concerns in relation to the proper operation of the HRA by particular local authorities.

136. If there are concerns on the operation of the HRA then tenants or their representatives must initially put their concerns to the Council(s) concerned and await a reply from the Council(s). This may or may not involve further correspondence and/or meeting(s) between councils and tenants. For tenants who feel that the council(s) has ultimately failed to address their concerns or provided them with an unsatisfactory response, there are a number of agencies that may be interested in hearing from them:

• Audit Scotland - if there are significant issues of a financial nature.
• The Scottish Housing Regulator (in relation to matters concerning the Scottish Social Housing Charter).
• The Scottish Public Sector Ombudsman ( SPSO) is a body where citizens can go to when the complaints procedure of the organisation in question has been exhausted.
• The Scottish Information Commissioner (in relation to a request for particular information from a Scottish local authority) can be contacted by anyone, anywhere in the world.

137. In order to deal with the concern efficiently, tenants (or others) wishing to raise any issues should initially try to match their concerns to the roles and responsibilities of each organisation in table 1 i.e. they should try to identify which organisation(s) is/are the most relevant to their particular concern.

138. Though Scottish Government cannot investigate concerns or provide legal advice, questions on the application of this Guidance can be made to ( hraguidance@scotland.gov.gsi.uk). Councils should first seek guidance from their relevant CIPFA and Audit Scotland contacts and take other internal advice, including legal advice, on such matters if necessary.

Directorate for Housing, Regeneration and Welfare
Scottish Government
February 2014