Meeting description: To discuss Welfare Reform and update Ministers on Scottish Federation Of Housing Associations (SFHA) concerns about slow progress on the abolition of the Bedroom Tax at source. Discussions also focussed on progress of the Scottish Government's 50 000 affordable homes programme and SFHA's views on the importance of ensuring continued investment post-2021 to generate matched private sector funding. We further discussed the challenge of ensuring continued investment in existing housing given the extent of homelessness and fuel poverty. SFHA's work on homelessness and views on the proposals from the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group working group were mentioned in particular the need to support tenancy sustainment. The need to ensure investment continues to be available to SFHA members working on tackling fuel poverty and the need for a focus on rural fuel poverty accepting the higher costs tenants in remote and rural areas face and the need to take a balanced view of Consultation on the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing post-2020 (EESSH2) given the estimated implementation costs of A3.5 billion were also highlighted.
Topic label: Housing