Why we are engaging with Scottish Borders Council (Scottish Borders)
We are engaging with Scottish Borders about its services for people who are homeless and its site for Gypsy/Travellers.
COVID-19 has significantly impacted the services provided by social landlords in 2020 and will continue to influence how services are provided in 2021. We will continue to monitor, assess and report upon how each landlord is responding and we will keep our regulatory engagement under review so that we can continue to respond to the challenges of COVID-19.
We have reviewed the information on homelessness in the COVID-19 monthly returns. We will discuss with Scottish Borders the impact of the pandemic on outcomes for people who are threatened with, or are experiencing, homelessness, how it is working with its Registered Social Landlord partners to provide accommodation, and review our engagement.
Scottish Borders failed to comply with the Scottish Government’s minimum standards for its Gypsy/Traveller site by the deadline date of June 2018. The site remains non-compliant and no firm timescale has been provided as to when compliance will be achieved.
What Scottish Borders must do
Scottish Borders must:
- provide us with the information we may require in relation to its homelessness service;
- provide us with monthly reports from the end of April 2021 showing progress in meeting the minimum standards for its Gypsy/Traveller site by no later than December 2021; and
- confirm that its site complies with the minimum standards by the end of December 2021.
What we will do
We will:
- meet with Scottish Borders to discuss its homelessness service and decide whether we require any additional assurance;
- monitor Scottish Border’s delivery of the minimum standards for its Gypsy/Traveller site;
- consider our regulatory engagement with Scottish Borders if the minimum standards are not met by the end of December 2021; and
- update our published engagement plan in light of any material change to our planned engagement with Scottish Borders.
Regulatory returns
Scottish Borders must provide us with the following annual regulatory returns and alert us to notifiable events as appropriate:
- Annual Assurance Statement; and
- Annual Return on the Charter.
It should also notify us of any material changes to its Annual Assurance Statement, and any tenant and resident safety matter which has been reported to or is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive or reports from regulatory or statutory authorities or insurance providers, relating to safety concerns.