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Better Homes for Scotland's Communities
The Executive's Proposals for the Housing Bill
UNISON Scotland Response
1. Introduction
2. Foreword by Minister for Communities
3. A new single social tenancy
Rights of Succession
Extending the Right to Buy
4. Scottish Homes
Protections for Staff
Equal Opportunities
5. The Strategic Role of Authorities
Strategic Role
Single local housing plans
Mass Stock Transfer / `Community Ownership'
Tenants' Consent to Stock Transfer
DLOs
6. Homelessness and Housing Management
7. Improvement and Repair Grant
8. Other Issues
1 INTRODUCTION
· UNISON Scotland welcomes the opportunity to respond
to the publication Better Homes for Scotland's Communities:
The Executive's Proposals for the Housing Bill
· UNISON Scotland is the main union for housing workers.
Our members are employed by Scotland's local authorities, housing
associations, housing co-operatives and housing companies. In addition
many thousands of our members work in partnership with housing staff
to provide vital services to the community.
2 FOREWORD BY MINISTER FOR COMMUNITIES
· UNISON Scotland shares the intention of Communities Minister
Wendy Alexander MSP that "Every community should provide a
range of good-quality, secure housing options". We have a fundamental
disagreement, however, on how to achieve this goal.
· The proposals outlined in the document are based on the
Scottish Executive's policy of mass stock transfer of housing from
the local government sector. We believe this policy narrows rather
than widens the "range" of options open to communities.
3 A NEW SINGLE SOCIAL TENANCY
Rights of Succession
· UNISON Scotland welcomed the clear statement in the Scottish
Executive's earlier publication, A New Single Social Housing
Tenancy for Scotland: Rights, Obligations and Opportunities,
that the right of tenancy succession under the new single tenancy
would extend to a same-sex partner (page 19 of that earlier publication).
The current consultation document does not explicitly state this,
but it does refer to cohabiting couples in general in two contexts:
paragraph 14 and the table, on page 15, refer to the tenancy succession
rights of cohabitees, and section 6 of the table on page 25 refers
to the right to buy arrangements for cohabiting couples.
· The rights set out in the Housing Bill for the new single
tenancy, concerning succession of tenancy and right to buy, should
apply equally to cohabiting couples of mixed sex and cohabiting
couples of the same sex. There is no question that to deny tenancy
succession rights to same-sex partners would quite unnecessarily
cause very great distress and hardship to real people, at a time
when, with the loss of a partner, they are at their most vulnerable.
Extending the Right to Buy
· UNISON Scotland is strongly opposed to any extension
of the right to buy to existing housing association tenants.
· An extension of the policy will have the consequence of
reducing the amount of social housing available for rent. This will
have a particular impact on rural communities and on certain inner
city areas such as Partick and central Edinburgh. It will result
in less choice and less diversity of tenure.
· In the new single tenancy the provision for a core right
to repair is welcome and the requirement on all landlords to provide
and maintain properties in a state which is wind and water tight
is supported. UNISON Scotland believes that this is no more than
tenants should have at present and we would wish to see this supported
by a tenants' right to take landlords to court if they fail to deliver
this basic need.
4 SCOTTISH HOMES
Protections for Staff
· UNISON Scotland welcomes the commitment in the document
that staff will be protected in any transfer from Scottish Homes.
· This must include the protection of all jobs, pay and conditions
of Scottish Homes staff including protection of their pension entitlement.
· It should also include protection of rights for consultation,
representation and negotiation for recognised trade unions.
Equal Opportunities
· UNISON Scotland notes that the new Executive Agency
will also have other responsibilities relating to development of
good practice, advising local authorities and promoting community
regeneration. This is obviously a pivotal role, and it is crucial
therefore that the encouragement of equal opportunities is key principle
for the new Agency, just as it is for the Parliament and Executive
themselves, and just as the McIntosh report, Local Government
and The Scottish Parliament, recommends (paragraph 24) it should
be for local authorities. The Housing Bill should place the new
Executive Housing Agency under a statutory duty to encourage equal
opportunities, with the definition of equal opportunities taken
from section L2 of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998. There is
a precedent for such a duty in the Standards in Scotland's Schools
etc. Act 2000 (sections 5(2) and 5(3). We note the proposal
on page 42 that there will be a Code of Practice for the Regulator.
The Code of Practice for the Housing Regulator should reiterate
the need to encourage equal opportunities, but this should not substitute
for a statutory duty to encourage, in the Bill itself.
5 THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Strategic Role
· UNISON Scotland is concerned about the lack detail in
this section other than to present some incentives for local authorities
in terms of control of local budgets. Other references to `strategic
roles' are vague and, unless clarified, could lead to potential
clashes in policy between the local authority and the proposed new
regulatory body.
Single local housing plans
· UNISON Scotland believes that the Housing Bill should
require that local authorities' housing plans contain a statement
of the ways in which they consider that their plan will encourage
equal opportunities, as defined in section L2 of schedule 5 to the
Scotland Act 1998. There is a direct model for such a planning duty
in sections 5(2) and 5(3) of the Standards in Scotland's Schools
etc. Act 2000.
Mass Stock Transfer / `Community Ownership'
· UNISON Scotland believes that a policy of mass stock
transfer, or so-called `community ownership', is unnecessary and
damaging for the following reasons:
· it is an expensive and unnecessary means of resolving
the investment crisis in public housing stock
· it will lead to less democratic accountability
· it will destabilise local communities
· it will result in less diversity in housing tenure
· it may lead to increased social exclusion
· it will, over time, lead to an increase in rents
· and it will inevitably have a detrimental impact on the
jobs, pay and conditions of local government housing staff
· UNISON Scotland believes
that tenants should be able to makes real choices about the future
management and maintenance of their homes - with the maximum possible
information available to them.
· Where housing stock transfers have been proposed tenants
are being told there is no alternative means of securing the necessary
investment within a reasonable timescale. This is not true.
· UNISON Scotland would suggest that an alternative approach
be considered based upon Local Housing Quasi-Corporations:
· This would ring-fence the housing account within the local
authority.
· A corporation could borrow money based on an effective
business plan and on the regular income and asset base of the housing
stock, but with no recourse to the general assets of the authority.
· This is the cheapest alternative funding solution for
investment.
· Residents would benefit from capital investment without
the uncertainties of a new landlord.
· The local authority would retain ownership, control, and
retain its own nomination/allocation policies.
· This is the only option which guarantees the retention
of jobs, incomes and training opportunities for the existing workforce.
· The existing debt should be written-off by the Scottish
Executive.
· It is in line with best value practice, and would allow
improvements in management and closer tenant involvement in an environment
of co-operation, trust & security.
· Tenants should retain their secure tenancies and other
rights.
· There would be guaranteed benefits for tenants, council
taxpayers and Scottish taxpayers.
Tenants' Consent to Stock Transfer
· UNISON Scotland notes that the ballot to decide on stock
transfer will be determined by a `majority of those who vote'.
· We would request that before any ballot is held that tenants
are given the opportunity of hearing both the case for and against
transfer and that mechanisms be put in place to have equal funding
for both the "yes" and "no" campaigns. It is
surely in the interests of democracy and fairness that tenants hear
both sides before they cast their ballot.
DLOs
· UNISON Scotland welcomes the proposal that DLOs will be
able to tender for work previously outwith their remit for a "wider
range of registered social landlords". However we are concerned
about the lack of freedom this affords DLOs. From our reading of
the proposals it appears that DLOs will not have any opportunity
to participate in new-build projects and that these will remain
exclusive to the private sector.
· UNISON Scotland is concerned that the document offers little
in the way of reassurance for DLO staff and it would appear that
the current offer of a three year contract is no more than a three-year
notice for much of the workforce.
6 HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING MANAGEMENT
· UNISON Scotland notes that the document suggests the intention
to transfer homeless provision responsibilities from local authorities
to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). This is a radical step but
one which is potentially seriously misguided. There appears to be
little thought given to the policing of such a policy and experience
suggests that a `localising' of homeless responsibilities is likely
to lead to communication problems both between RSLs and RSLs and
support services, a serious reluctance to genuinely deal with more
difficult cases in need of relocation, and importantly provides
real problems with any attempt at operating a fair and uniformed
authority-wide allocations policy.
· UNISON Scotland is doubtful from the evidence provided
in the document that the Executive is aware of the scale of the
chaos that could ensue from this proposed change in legislation.
It would also be interesting to investigate how this change would
impact on current cross-border arrangements with authorities in
England and Wales. We note that the issue of asylum-seekers and
local authority responsibilities in this area is not addressed.
· UNISON Scotland believes that the proposals regarding the
needs of the homeless should also address the issue of housing quality.
It is not enough to provide a home: the quality of the home and
the sustainability of standards must also be considered. The running
costs of the home, especially those relating to the cost of domestic
fuel, are important factors in maintaining any new tenancy.
7 IMPROVEMENT AND REPAIR GRANT
· On improvement and repair grants, the proposals suggest
a widening of the current measures which can be funded under the
improvement and repair grant system, but does not indicate how this
will be supported or financed. UNISON Scotland would like to see
this become a statutory grant rather than discretionary as at present.
We would also wish monies to be ring fenced in each authority area
so that all home owners across Scotland have equal right of access
to the grant.
8 OTHER ISSUES
· UNISON Scotland believes that the Bill should contain
specific reference to eliminating fuel poverty, together with detailed
proposals for improving domestic energy efficiency. Support and
resources for local authorities to allow them to meet their responsibilities
under the Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) and in their role
of working with new Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) should also
be included.
· Quality of homes throughout the Bill is seen as being implicit
rather than explicit. UNISON Scotland believes that the Bill should
contain specific proposals relating to quality. We call for a minimum
Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating of 20 for all dwellings
and a detailed plan of work to address the worst homes first.
· The consultation paper does not address the need to licence
the private rented sector, choosing instead to allow self-regulation.
UNISON Scotland believes that, as the worst housing stock has been
shown to be in the private rented sector, only regulation will address
the problems of poor housing conditions in this sector. In the Keeping
Scotland Warm proposals, UNISON Scotland and Energy Action Scotland
(EAS) call for the licensing of the private rented sector and seek
the appointment of the local authority as the regulating body. We
also ask that all landlords who have more than 150 properties be
required to submit HECA reports to their local authority in order
to gauge and encourage improvement in house conditions within the
private rented as well as other social rented sectors.
· Anyone moving home should know the financial liabilities
beyond that of mortgage or rent payment. Sustainability of ownership
or tenancy should be supported through the introduction of an energy
survey which would give exact details of the energy efficiency of
the dwelling, including the costs associated with heating and other
domestic fuel use. The NHER scale of energy rating should be used
to support this. Such a survey should be undertaken each time a
house is sold, as part of the standard property survey.
MATT SMITH
UNISON SCOTTISH SECRETARY
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