Tenants Together (Scotland) SHR Liaison Group - minutes - 29 April 2025

Apologies

June Anderson (JA) 

MDy - TPAS Board member  

SM – Albyn Housing Association Board member  

SG – Link Housing Association & Link Group Board member  

LR asked how SHR will monitor compliance on these matters? LM advised that this was not the role of SHR, and that the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland has the power to intervene in legal proceedings or to bring proceedings in its name on a range of different children’s rights issues. Case law would determine much of this, but that only one piece of case law is currently in existence, and this relates to the criminal justice sector. She noted that currently Local Authorities are listed under the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 and had been since 2014 under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, but RSLs are not. She noted that some landlords are looking ahead and seeking legal advice on application; and that this was useful but stressed that for RSLs the full extent of the implications are still unclear. SHR is awaiting more clarity on this. LM also noted that for SHR, implementation of the legislation will be challenging because SHR do not provide direct services to children and young people. LM added there are already good resources available for landlords such as child rights impact assessment tools, which means they can look at policies through a UNCRC lens. 

SG added that in relation to TTS, recently younger people have started to show an interest in membership, but not 18 or younger. TTS have not focused on recruiting young people yet but would like to consider the possibility in future. SG added that perhaps liaising with Youth Parliament could be a starting point. 

The group also discussed that young people did not have to be a named tenant to get involved in housing issues. Many young people live within social housing, and they are the future of social housing. 

KM presented on the recent publication of the new engagement plans for all social landlords; and the summary of the outcomes of SHR’s annual regulatory risk assessment. Both were published on 31 March.  

Engagement Plans set out SHR’s requirements of each landlord and how SHR will engage with them. So, the slideshow provided an overview of the type of issues SHR are engaging with social landlords about; and also explained that the summary report sets out the main risks affecting all social landlords. It highlights that systemic failure is now impacting the delivery of homelessness services in some areas of Scotland. It also describes heightened risks around developing new homes and maintaining existing homes.  The report further sets out the challenges for social landlords in keeping rents affordable for tenants whilst dealing with rising costs. 

LR enquired re: City of Edinburgh suspending allocations other than homeless applicants, the group were interested to know if tenants had been consulted on this. KM advised that she would query this with the portfolio lead and come back to the Group with a response. 

Action TTS001 – KM to provide more information on Edinburgh decision to suspend allocations, particularly related to tenant consultation. 

SM enquired about the rise in landlords who we are engaging with regarding service quality; and asked what this related to. 

Action TTS002 – KM to provide more information on reasons for service quality engagement within RSLs rising. 

The group enquired as to what considerations would be given to Awaab’s law when looking at performance related to damp and/or mould in the future. CCR advised that there would be some time taken to consider the first ARC returns (due end of May 2026) on the new damp and/or mould indicators, their usefulness and any enhancements/alterations required. 

Action TTS004 – KM to send on communal heating system information leaflet from Consumer Scotland. 

The meeting also discussed landlord communications with tenants around gas servicing and electrical inspections and that these could be improved. 

In advance of the meeting, KM provided a briefing note to the group on the findings of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report and the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. The group asked for a presentation on this; and the impact on the sector, tenants and SHR at a future meeting. It was agreed that staff leading on this work would attend the next meeting on 19 August to discuss. KM added that SHR will ask landlords to complete a cladding survey to bolster Stock Quality Data and to allow SHR to better understand the scope of buildings potentially affected by flammable cladding across Scotland. SHR intend for this to go out mid-May with responses by mid-June.  

Action TTS005 – KM to arrange a presentation on cladding for the 19 August meeting.  

On Health & Safety more widely, SG advised that TTS are considering re-forming a working group on Health & Safety, and this would be put to members for agreement.  HTT asked about the recent building safety and maintenance consultation meeting held by the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and if TTS members had been in attendance. SG said she had not yet received feedback on this meeting. 

HTT gave some background on her interest in both becoming an SHR Board member and Chair of the TTS SHR Liaison Group. Helen introduced an ice breaker game to discuss how SHR can promote tenant engagement and joint working with the group and TTS more widely.  

HTT provided updates on the SHR Board recruitment - the interviews have been completed, and recommendations are expected to go up to Scottish Ministers at the start of May.  SHR expect a decision by early June with the start date 1 July 2025. SHR will look to get the new SHR Chair to meet with the Group as soon as diaries allow.    

Regarding the Parliamentary Committee scrutiny on SHR, HTT noted that the committee has written to SHR in March following the evidence sessions in December. SHR are in the process of drafting a response and this will be considered by the Board in May.  SHR will issue this to the Committee shortly after that.    

HTT noted that since the group last met there have been two Board meetings, these were held on 25 February and 1 April. Minutes of SHR Board Meetings are available on the SHR website. She provided an overview of these meetings for the group and noted that a guest speaker presentation from TIS’ Illene Campbell in April had been particularly interesting from a tenant engagement perspective.  

KM updated that SHR's operational plan is due to be published at the end of May, but she provided some headlines to the group. She noted the plan flows from the priorities set out in SHR's 2024-27 Strategy but also reflects the reality of the current financial pressures and that savings need to be delivered to achieve a balanced budget for 2025/26; as well as recognising SHR's current staffing resource levels.   

Given this, the operating plan sets out core tasks and activities; and aims to allow SHR to flex its operational approach to fit with our current capacity, allowing SHR to be agile and responsive to unforeseen issues or pieces of work which may emerge during the year; and to identify reserve tasks, which SHR may decide to promote into the operating plan if resources allow during the year. 

This means SHR have had to plan to scale back on some activities. SHR will have limited ability to complete thematic studies and no RSL treasury management reviews will take place during 2025/26. Over the next few months, SHR Staff and Board will also meet to consider how SHR shape the planned approach to the annual regulatory risk assessment for 2025/26. 

KM stressed however, that tenant engagement remains a key priority for SHR.  

KM noted that SHR had recently held an online ‘Lessons Learned’ Focus Group with Tenant Advisors (TAs) which offered the opportunity to reflect on their experience as a TA. The feedback that received was overwhelmingly positive and will help to inform SHR proposals for the TA programme moving forward. She also noted that all 8 TAs had accepted an offer to extend their appointment term for a further year to March 31, 2026.  In addition, 3 new TAs have agreed to join the programme from SHR’s reserve list, bringing the total number of TAs to 11.  An induction session will be held for the new TAs in May, with a further training session on equalities in June. KM also noted that the programme of exercises for the current year is under development but was to commence with an extension of the exercise on the review of Landlord websites for accessibility of documents.   

SHR’s contractor, Engage, is currently finalising the 2025 National Panel Report which will be published in the summer.  This will include the results of the annual National Panel survey of almost 500 Panel members; and the results of the programme of work including more in-depth interviews / discussions. Discussions have focussed on the experiences of homelessness services; Gypsy / Travellers site experiences and communication preferences. 

KM acknowledged that the news around resources may be disappointing, but SHR wanted to seek group member’s views on what they would like SHR to consider for future work with the Panel and Advisors and for a reserve list for Thematics. TTS members expressed an interest in rent affordability and consultation; Human Rights and Net Zero. SG added that members may have more ideas to feed in after the AGM on 7 June 2025. 

10.  SHR Updates