Resilience Groups Chairs minutes: 1 July 2020

Attendees and apologies

Present

• Chair - Sally Thomas - SFHA
• Katey Tabner - COSLA
• Nina Ballantyne - CAB
• Angela O’Brien - SG
• Yvonne Gavan -SG
• Naeem Bhatti - SG
• Margaret Irving - SG

Apologies

• Kevin Stewart - Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
• Cllr Elena Whitham - COSLA
• John Blackwood - SAL
• Catriona MacKean - SG

Items and actions

1.  Welcome / Introductions / Apologies

Sally welcomed everyone and apologies were noted.

2. Note of previous meeting / actions

Previous actions

PRS group officials currently looking at dissemination options for tenants information. Intention is to send out a hard copy of the information alongside the minister’s letter to tenants. Hope to be finalised later this week.

SG currently following up sharing of transport to carry out work on area based schemes in remote areas, 

Protocols – SG taking forward work on HARSAG, recovery planning. Would be good to have clarity on protocols.

Publishing resilience group meeting notes – all agreed it is good to share these across groups. It will be raised at future meetings of Social Housing group and PRS group. LARG have already discussed.

Action – follow this up at the next meeting.

Recovery Plan

Groups have already discussed or have plans to discuss at their next meeting.

Initial comments:

• New supply programme should be included.
• Focus on pressures from homelessness, temporary accommodation and unsuitable accommodation orders.
• Question about what will happen to this year’s underspend. Would like it to be carried forward to aid communities
• Clarification on how funds can be used to purchase second hand homes for social housing.
• Impact on allocations.
• Equality needs to be woven throughout priorities.
• HARSAG recommendations to be shared with resilience groups.
• Highlight cross group working.
• PRS long standing vacancies, rent arrears, landlords wishing to sell properties. Opportunity to link with social housing purchasing.
• New repair standard.
• Make sure all tenants have access to financial resources to prevent arrears in first place.
• Tenants in areas dependent on tourism, young people, women and ethnic minorities are more likely to live in the PRS.
• Useful to share tenant stories from PRS but also from TPAS and LA perspective.

• Concerns that the need for CAS to shift to online and phone advice means some people may no longer to access advice, but still be in need, with these people not captured in CAS data.

Action - Groups to discuss recovery plan and send feedback to SG.

Action - CAS data and most recent SHR data to be shared with group.

3. Updates from Resilience Groups

PRS Resilience Group

• Meeting every two weeks. Next meeting on Monday 6 July.
• Discussion will include CAS data on housing advice requests. This will help identify groups by gender, employment status, SIMD information etc.

Local Government Resilience Group

• Discussion of the recovery document
• Voids processing is slowly starting to pick up.
• Challenges for stock transfer areas as housing assoc have furloughed staff.
• Gypsy /Travellers - renewed framework as more travellers are expected to go out on the road.
• Individuals who have no recourse to public funds – discussion about the use of B&B and hotels.

Action – COSLA and SFHA to have a separate discussion on voids and stock transfer.

Social Housing Resilience Group  

• Letter from Minister to go out to social landlords on fire safety, electrical safety and EEESH, noting timescales.
• Expecting SHR performance data for individual social landlords on rent income arears.
• PPE arrangement going well in terms of time, quality and cost.
• Test and protect –looking at local experiences and will follow up with PHS
• Housing Association experiences of community resilience on the ground
• HARSAG review.
• Support for asylum seekers and refugees.

4. Publication of Resilience Groups meeting notes

Chairs agreed to share meeting summaries with the groups by Friday.

PRS will discuss on Monday but don’t expect any issues.

Action - LAHRG to share completed template with other chairs.

5. Any Other Business

SG officials will send round future meeting dates and times after discussion with the Minister’s private office.