Argyll Community Housing Association has revealed that two months after the introduction of the "bedroom tax" by the UK Government, 583 of its 5,000 tenants are affected by it.

The association's research has shown that this has resulted in £350,000 worth of income coming out of the pockets of some of its poorest tenants and it is causing difficulty for many in paying their rent.

The association's research shows that of the 583 affected, many people - particularly single, the unemployed or those in low paid work – after paying the under-occupation charge and the ever-increasing costs of gas and electricity, will be left with as little as around £20-£25 to pay for food and any other expenses they have. Families are also badly affected with those whose incomes are low enough to get some help with their rent seeing a cut of an average of £50 per month to their household finances. The association offers a benefits maximisation service, but for most of those affected, the cut can only be avoided by moving, and this is not a realistic possibility for many, particularly in the more remote communities

The association is concerned that for many of its tenants affected by the bedroom tax, alternative housing to downsize to fall within the criteria is impractical. In communities across Argyll and Bute there is just not the provision of one bedroomed properties available that people can move to.

The association is also concerned that some people may feel that they have to leave communities which they were born and brought up in, to be able to afford housing.

Alastair MacGregor, Argyll Community Housing Association's Chief Executive, commented:

"Like many housing associations across Scotland we made representations to the Westminster Government concerning these proposals. We believe that the current "safeguards" through Discretionary Housing Payments do not provide sufficient resources to protect people and the reality is that many already vulnerable people are going to run up rent arrears. This is neither healthy for them or their landlords."

He added:

"The association supports the call by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and others to repeal the bedroom tax."

Fairfield Housing Co-operative held its milestone 25th Annual General Meeting in the Fair City last Friday night. The well attended event saw the elections of new board members taking it to full strength for the fifth year running.

 Left to right: Joyce Scott, Alison Williamson , Connie Hodge, Joyce Holyer, Grant Ager, Alice McGuire, Elsie Stewart

Following a robust financial report from the Co-operative's auditor, Sandy Squires, Grant Ager paid tribute to the voluntary board, staff and contractors and not least the Fairfield residents throughout the city.

Special tributes were paid to Margo Chalmers, Howard Liddell and Hamish Carr who had all made a significant impact on the Fairfield journey but had all sadly passed earlier in the year.

Grant issued a resounding warning on the stupidity of the so called 'bedroom tax', which raised a cheer from the hall, and on the impacts of welfare reform. On a positive note, Fairfield are looking forward to working in partnership towards the completion of Muirton Park over the next few years and continuing to enhance customer service.

The meeting concluded with long service presentations to several board, contractors and staff members.

Connie Hodge, Chair of the board, commented: "The board are very happy with the direction of travel Fairfield is taking and we have good foundations to move into the next 25 years. Everyone is looking forward to our Family Celebration day in August and the publication of the Fairfield Story in September. Fairfield is a tremendous community and I am proud to serve it."

A survey of new home buyers has found that home builders in Scotland are delivering record levels of customer satisfaction.

93% of customers were satisfied with the overall quality of their home and the same number were also willing to recommend their builder to a friend, according to the research undertaken by the National House Building Council (NHBC) with the results for Scottish homeowners analysed for industry body Homes for Scotland.

As Philip Hogg, Homes for Scotland Chief Executive points out, the figures represent a further reason to buy a new build home. He said:

"Despite continuing economic challenges, the one certainty for those looking to move on to or up the housing ladder is that new build homes offer the widest range of choice and purchase solutions – something the secondhand market simply cannot match.

"With the MI New Home 95% mortgage scheme, part exchange and shared equity just some of the many options available to help support creditworthy buyers, whatever your individual circumstances, if you want or need to move, it is possible.

"Taken together with the added benefits of a ten year guarantee and the protection of the Consumer Code for Home Builders, new home buyers can be confident they will be getting the best deal by far.

"Older homes can't offer such peace of mind and there's no one there to check how happy you are with your purchase. In contrast, however, you can move straight into a new home, enjoy living in it right away without the bother of DIY ruining evenings and weekends and be sure help is at hand if you need it."

Malcolm MacLeod, Director of NHBC Scotland, commented:

"These are very encouraging results, which underline the continued commitment of the Scottish house-building industry to producing high quality new homes and providing excellent service to consumers. Research has shown that occupiers have very positive views about new homes, compared to those consumers living in older stock. This is something the new homes industry can be truly proud of."

Irvine Housing Association (IHA) has recently achieved the Healthy Working Lives Silver Award – an initiative driven by NHS Health Scotland. The scheme aims to make improved health and well-being in the workplace an integral part of Scottish corporate culture.

This prestigious award recognises the association's long-term commitment to helping improve the health and well-being of its staff. In order to meet the criteria for assessment, the association had to undertake various steps in order to promote Healthy Working Lives amongst its employees. The award required the association to meet compulsory elements of safety in line with UK legislation and also to look at aspects of health and well-being.

A staff working group (Mary Huggan, Kerry Martin, Kathryn Morrison and Mark Abrahart) worked towards this achievement by organising seminars, talks, events and regular physical activities for staff. This included participating in Walk to Work Week, visits from the K:A Leisure Activator Bus, a cycle around Arran, in-house campaigns on oral hygiene and dealing with stress, and the production of a healthy eating recipe book.

Mary Huggan said:

"We are delighted to have achieved the Silver award. Working on the Healthy Working Lives portfolio allows us to look at the range of support that we offer staff in the workplace and how we can help staff live a healthier lifestyle both in and outside IHA. It's about achieving the right work life balance and ensuring we have healthy, happy staff. We are now looking forward to going for gold."

Pictured: Left-right members of the working group - Kerry Martin, Mary Huggan and Mark Abrahart 

A new matchmaking service is being launched this week across Forth Valley to introduce buyers and sellers of empty properties, in a bid to bring empty homes back into use.

The pilot, under the guidance of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership which is run by Shelter Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government, is part of a project which sees Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils collaborate with an advisory board to identify, refurbish and rent, or sell empty homes.

According to Shelter Scotland there are 23,000 long term private empty homes across Scotland, 1,420 of them in Forth Valley.

It is hoped the new Matchmaker service, run by the local authorities as part of the Forth Valley Empty Homes Project, with the help of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, will help transform many of those back into homes for families and individuals who need them.

The initiative aims to introduce buyers looking for an investment or renovation opportunity, with those looking to sell empty properties.

Kristen Hubert, Shelter Scotland's empty homes co-ordinator, said:

"This is a great, low cost way for councils to help potential buyers and sellers identify each other and hopefully find solutions to Scotland's empty homes problem.

"There are many reasons why a home might be left empty. Owners can have sentimental attachment to it or they don't have the finances, the time or the skills to complete their plans for the property, or they simply can't find a buyer through conventional routes.

"The Matchmaker Service allows owners to dip their toe in the water of selling their property, reassuring them that there are developers and other interested buyers out there, before taking the next step to sell their property."

The Matchmaker service is being launched in Forth Valley following the success of a similar project in East Lothian, West Lothian, Scottish Borders and Fife.

According to Shelter Scotland, participating local authorities will incorporate the Matchmaker service into existing work to bring empty homes back into use, and empty homes officers are already in place to help owners and potential buyers.

Kristen Hubert added:

"With 156,000 households on housing waiting lists, the Matchmaker service is an additional step in the right direction towards bringing Scotland's 23,000 empty homes back into use for families and individuals who need them."

Matchmaker is available through a local empty homes officer operating from Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire councils. Interested parties should contact their local authority for further information.

Twenty new houses and 60 new flats are being built in Falkirk and Grangemouth after a £7.7 million investment plan was approved at a meeting of Falkirk Council's Executive on Tuesday 18th June 2013.

Two sites have been identified for the new build social housing – Windsor Road in Falkirk and Tinto Drive in Grangemouth.

Preliminary work on the Falkirk properties has already started and is expected to be completed by April 2014. In Grangemouth, work is starting in late June and is expected to be completed by October 2014.

Windsor Road will see 16 two-bedroom flats (eight will be fully ground floor accessible) and eight 3 or 4 bedroom houses built fronting on to Windsor Road.

The Tinto Drove site is located on the former location of Grangemouth High School and provides 44 two and three bedroom flats (22 being located on the ground floor and are fully accessible) and 12 three or four bedroom terraced houses.

Councillor Craig Martin, Leader of Falkirk Council said:

"On our ongoing building programme is going some way to meet the social housing shortages we face across the area.

"These two projects will feature an energy efficient design and will be built in a very modern style.

"As soon as these properties are completed we will get these on to our system and look to rent these out as soon as possible."

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) is currently seeking nominations for four positions on its Board. Each year four serving Board Members (one from each constituency) stand down and may seek nomination subject to the provisions of Article 54 of the SFHA Memorandum & Articles.

This year the following Board Members will stand down:

· City of Glasgow – Robert Tamburrini - eligible for nomination

· Other Cities – Ewan Fraser – not eligible for nomination

· Other Urban Areas – Maureen O'Donnell resigned in March (VCM) - eligible for nomination

· Rural and Islands – Gordon Mitchell (VCM) – not eligible for nomination

Nomination packs have been sent out to the representative member of each affiliate organisation seeking nominations from within their constituency.

If you are interested in being nominated for a position on the SFHA Board, speak with your representative member in the first instance. A list of representative members for each constituency can be found on the SFHA website within the Nomination Pack for each constituency. www.sfha.co.uk. Please ensure you are logged in with your members' password to access these papers.

Fully completed, endorsed and signed nomination forms must be received by the SFHA no later than 4.00pm on Friday, 12th July 2013. Only those members who have paid their affiliation fee for 2013-14 are eligible to take part.

For further information please contact Alexis Sheldrick on telephone: 0141 567 6223.

SFHA's Jobs Online service gives housing organisations the chance to advertise job vacancies quickly and easily whilst reaching a range of professionals across the sector.

Why not keep recruitment costs low whilst achieving fantastic response rates, and get listed on the SFHA website jobs page along with your company logo.

This is a fantastic opportunity to economically recruit staff, advertise tenders and promote your services. We also advertise tenders FREE of charge (SFHA members only).

For further details please contact us on 0141 332 8113

The Spotlight supplement within Housing Scotland magazine continues to go from strength to strength. The Spotlight provides housing associations and co-operatives with the opportunity highlight their work to the sector.

The supplement is inserted into Housing Scotland magazine whilst additional copies are provided to the featured association for their own marketing purposes. The editorial content comes from the featured organisation and is produced in-house by the SFHA's expert team; this is done at very competitive rates with the supplement being offered in 8, 12 or 16 page options.

Bookings are now taking place for:

• July-Aug 2013 (bumper double edition)
• October 2013
• Dec 2013/January 2014

To ensure your association is put in the Spotlight, please contact: 

Robert Aitken on 0141 567 6234 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or Phil Campbell on 0141 567 6248 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it