The watchdog began engaging with Clydebank about its governance in January 2024 when it sought to clarify the status of some of its governing body members.

Concerns about Clydebank’s compliance with the regulatory standards of governance and financial management were raised in SHR’s review of Clydebank’s governing body meeting minutes.

In an updated engagement plan, the Regulator said Clydebank did not initially accept its concerns or act upon a request for it to seek independent, expert advice to provide assurance about its compliance.

Clydebank did subsequently commission an independent review of its governing body member appointments to investigate the issues the SHR had raised.

In March 2024, the Regulator changed Clydebank’s regulatory status to ‘Compliant (under review)’ while it awaited the outcome of the independent review.

The independent review found that Clydebank did not fully comply with its constitution between May 2023 and March 2024. During this period, two members of the governing body’s memberships ceased, because - in line with Clydebank’s rules – both had missed four consecutive governing body meetings without a leave of absence being granted. However, this was not identified by Clydebank.

The Regulator said that operating without a properly elected governing body exposed Clydebank to risks, including jeopardising the governing body’s ability to fulfil its role to lead and direct the organisation.

Clydebank acted quickly to develop an improvement plan to address the concerns and started to implement it while the independent review was still being carried out. This meant that the review was able to conclude that membership of Clydebank’s governing body did comply with its constitution at March 2024.

Clydebank updated its improvement plan following the conclusion of the independent review and shared this with SHR. It has now completed most of the actions within the improvement plan and is progressing well with the remaining actions. As recommended by the independent review, Clydebank will shortly commission a separate independent review of its governance framework.

In June 2024, the Regulator completed its review of Clydebank’s regulatory status and was satisfied that Clydebank had provided sufficient assurance about its compliance with the Regulatory Standards. This meant SHR updated Clydebank’s regulatory status to ‘Compliant’.

The Regulator said it will continue to engage with Clydebank as it progresses its governance framework review.

Lynette Lees, Clydebank Housing Association chief executive, told Scottish Housing News: “We are confident that the measures we have already implemented, coupled with our recent successful management committee recruitment drive and our ongoing positive communication with the SHR, will ensure that Clydebank HA continues to take proactive steps to strengthen and enhance our governance.

“We are pleased that our revised Engagement Plan shows that we are compliant with our regulatory requirements.”