October 18, 2011
Is the Regulator against community run housing?
The new Scottish Housing Regulator looks to be on collision course with the community based housing movement over plans for the future regulation of social housing. Proposals include the introduction of paid remuneration for Board members and setting limits on the length of time a Board member can serve. Both have been perceived as a direct attack on the core values of the community led housing association movement. Expect fireworks at the GWSF conference
GWSF and EVH recently published a summary of the Consultation Document published by the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR), “The Regulation of Social Housing in Scotland”. As promised, we have written a follow-up Briefing, with SHARE joining us as co-publishers.
Many aspects of the Consultation Document are technical or reflect established regulatory practice. But some parts of the Document involve major changes for housing associations and have generated widespread discussion among GWSF, EVH and SHARE members.
This Briefing covers four of the big issues thatcommunity based housing associations have been raising:
• Monitoring and reporting against the Scottish Social Housing Charter
• Regulatory standards and guidance on housing association governance
• The SHR’s statutory duty to carry out its functions in a proportionate, transparent and accountable way
• How the proposals as a whole meet the SHR’s stated aim
The Briefing sets out our shared perspective on each of these issues.
For a copy of the briefing click here
The new chair of the Scottish Housing Regulator will be speaking at the GWSF conference on 11/11/11. For more information on the conference click here