Working Groups – Tenants Together (Scotland)

Tenants Together members work together to influence national housing policy and standards. We achieve this through our subgroups, meetings with stakeholders and participation in Scottish Government and Scottish Housing Regulator consultations.

The working groups enable members to get involved in specific projects or tasks in a more in-depth way. The establishment and work of the subgroups is based on housing policy and practice issues, legislative proposals, along with tenant interest and priorities.

Active Working Groups of Tenants Together

Accessibility Group

This working group was set up in 2022 to consider lived experince in relation to accessible housing and independent living. The work of this group feeds into the Scottish Government’s wider stakeholder working group on this subject, which includes two Tenants Together representatives on it’s membership list.
Communication Group
The Communications sub-group was established to take forward work in relation to communicating between Tenants Together RTOs and other stakeholders and promoting the Networks and their work, including the development and update of the website, information leaflets and Newsletters, the communication strategy etc.

The Communications Group will be responsible for: –

Implementing Tenants Together’s internal and external communications structure

Monitoring and reviewing the efficiency of Tenants Together’s internal and external communications and amend the procedures, if necessary, to ensure that all concerned parties, as detailed in the Appendix table

Receive the required information in line with the established frequency
Housing to 2040

The New Deal for Tenants draft consultation mentions the point on tenant participation and an equalities led approach to ensuring the needs and experiences of all tenants are reflected, therefore the newly formed Housing to 2040 Working Group will look at how this can best be achieved, by gathering views, ideas and experiences and to help shape the way forward for this work and informing the Scottish Government of their views to influence change.
Housing Revenue Account (HRA)
Specifically for tenants of Local Authorities, not Housing Associations

Opportunity to share practice

Support tenants to engage with their landlord

On the operation of the HRA
SHR Liaison Group

The Scottish Housing Regulator regulates Registered Social Landlords and the landlord and homelessness services of local authorities. It is an independent Non-Ministerial Department, directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament.

The Liaison group was set up in 2015 and works with the SHR on housing issues affecting tenants. The group meet quarterly for a pre-meeting to identify topics to be raised with SHR representatives. Two weeks later, a group of 9 (maximum) will attend a meeting with SHR representatives. In general, those attending the meeting with SHR representatives should also have attended the pre-meeting, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Stakeholder Groups that Tenants Together feed into

Accessible Housing & Independent Living
a new Housing for Varying Needs design guide

the supply of accessible and adapted homes

a new Scottish Accessible Homes standard for all new homes

an inclusive programme of retrofitting social homes

streamlining and accelerating the adaptations system

housing options for older and disabled homeowners

a person-centred approach that aligns Housing and Health & Social Care services
Housing to 2040 Strategic Board
The group will:

Critically review of the main working definitions of affordability and the different uses of affordability in policy and practice.

Agree the process of consensus-building.

Commission focus group co-ordinators and co-design focus group work.

Agree a set of provocations by different speakers for future meetings.

Test out and debate a shared understanding of affordability for Scotland.

Agree draft recommendations for Scottish Ministers
Housing Affordability Stakeholder Group
The group will:

Critically review of the main working definitions of affordability and the different uses of affordability in policy and practice.

Agree the process of consensus-building.

Commission focus group co-ordinators and co-design focus group work.

Agree a set of provocations by different speakers for future meetings.

Test out and debate a shared understanding of affordability for Scotland.

Agree draft recommendations for Scottish Ministers

Inactive Working Groups

Evictions
Fire Safety Review Group
Housing & Social Security Group
The role of the group is:

To support and advise the Scottish Government on the use of devolved social security powers in relation to housing.

To advise the Scottish Government on the impact of UK Government welfare reform and support mitigation activity to reduce any negative effects.

This group has not met recently, we are looking into whether it will reconvene
Rent Affordability Working Group

The Rent Focus group was set up in 2020 to look at issues in relation to affordability of rent, landlord consultation and rent setting, and lived experience of tenants in managing rent and housing costs. The group is supported by the Scottish Government Tenant Priorities team and TPAS.
Zero Emmissions Social Housing Tasks Force (ZEST)

In March 2021, the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce (ZEST) was convened by the then Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning to look at the opportunities, barriers and solutions required of social housing to maximise its contribution to the Scottish Government’s ambitious climate change targets. ZEST published their report, Achieving Net Zero in Social Housing in August 2021.