Cllr Ben Thompson

After the Scottish Government recently announced changes to the standards for fire and smoke detectors in all tenures of housing, committee members were this week advised that, like other social landlords, the majority of works involve extending the existing smoke alarm provision to additional rooms and hallways and these works are being completed by a qualified electrician in a single visit.

In the Highlands, these works have been allocated funding as part of the council’s Housing Revenue budget but following discussion, the committee has agreed that the £1m budgeted for these works in 2020-21 is transferred to the capital programme and performance of this work will continue to be monitored as part of the capital monitoring process. Members also agreed that a further £1m is budgeted as part of the 2021-22 HRA Capital Programme.

Chair of the committee, Cllr Ben Thompson, said: “The provision of improved fire detection systems is a significant step forward in fire safety and will increase the safety of our communities, residents and firefighters. These systems have been proven to save lives and it is right that we continue to provide the resources to make these essential changes.”

During the committee members were also updated on the current capital improvement works underway and the impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had. A 2021/22 HRA Capital Programme for housing stock improvements of £15.667m was approved by the Housing and Property Committee on 13 August 2020. The area programmes are in the process of being presented to local Members for final Area Committee approval.

Across the Highlands, all capital works were stopped on-site during the national lockdown period in Spring and early Summer 2020. From 20 July 2020, capital works restarted on several projects. This focused initially on external works and completing outstanding works rather than initiating new works. As of 31 August, all capital projects re-started on site and the Committee were advised today that all 2020- 21 projects have been progressing in accordance with COVID-19 safety guidelines.

The committee also had the opportunity to review the progress of the new council house build programme 2020-21. The programme is anticipated to deliver a minimum of 106 new completions within the current financial year plus 20 one-off individual purchases.e

Elsewhere, the council’s Housing Annual Assurance Statement for 2020 was approved which focused on the key themes of statutory requirements, legislation, charter performance, customer satisfaction and engagement.

The Statement is a regulatory requirement monitored by the Scottish Housing Regulator. Highland’s 2020 Statement confirms how it achieves compliance with legislative duties and how it delivers essential services to tenants. It also emphasises the importance the council places on effective tenant participation. The Council has been participating in the Scottish Government’s Next Steps Programme and tenants have been actively involved in drafting a Tenant Participation Action Plan which will be incorporated into the review of the Tenant Participation Strategy in 2021.

Cllr Thompson provided information on the remit of the committee in scrutinising the council’s housing performance when representatives from the Scottish Housing Regulator visited the Highlands earlier this year. A copy of the Regulator’s report on the 2019 Assurance Statement was provided to committee and their positive comments on Highland’s performance and commitment to tenant engagement were noted.

Cllr Thompson said: “We very much welcome our ongoing engagement with the Scottish Housing Regulator. Our Assurance Statement will provide them with a helpful insight into the processes we follow and the priority we have on tenant safety and rent affordability. This is a very positive report and is testimony to the hard work of our housing service.”

Having gained committee approval, the Assurance Statement will now be submitted to the Scottish Housing Regulator.