The Scottish Government is consulting on whether any amendments are necessary to the Scottish Social Housing Charter. It has produced a consultation paper, with responses to the initial phase of the consultation due by 9 September. SFHA will be submitting a response, and is gathering member views to shape this.
SFHA has asked each of its practitioner forums for views on the Charter outcomes most relevant to them but would also welcome views on the Charter more generally. A feedback form is included in the downloads section to the right of this article, and can be used to provide any thoughts or comments you have to SFHA on any of the specific Charter outcomes.
SFHA would also welcome any views on the following points:
- Did you (or someone from your organisation) attend one of the Scottish Government landlord/tenant consultation events in conjuction with TIS/TPAS? If so, how did you find the event?
- SFHA’s initial view is that amendments to the Charter should be kept to a minimum to ensure consistency. Do you agree with this approach?
- The Scottish Government has not proposed any additional Charter outcomes as yet but does directly mention in the consultation paper that it will look to cover EESSH 2, virtual engagement/digital connectivity and the relevant provisions of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2021 within the revised Charter. Do you see any issues with these being included? Is there anything else you would like to see added?
- The consultation paper also seeks examples of how the Charter has led to improvements in landlord services over the past five years. Do you think this has been the case and do you have any examples from your organisation?
If you could pleae contact Alan Stokes, Policy Lead astokes@sfha.co.uk with any comments by close Friday 3 September.
