Find information about

SHETLAND ISLANDS COUNCIL: REPORT ON IMPROVEMENT PROGRESS

The Scottish Housing Regulator today published its report on aspects of Shetland Islands Council’s housing and homelessness services. The purpose of inspection is to provide an independent external assessment of the effectiveness of housing service delivery and make recommendations to help improvement.

The Scottish Housing Regulator works jointly with Audit Scotland and the other regulators operating in Shetland Islands Council. This ensures that scrutiny activity is proportionate, risk based and targeted only on areas where scrutiny bodies have identified significant risks. The scrutiny in June 2011 reflected the risks identified by the scrutiny bodies and did not cover the Council’s performance in other aspects of its service delivery, where no significant risks were identified.

Lesley Kerr, Acting Head of Inspection at The Scottish Housing Regulator, said:

“We found that Shetland Islands Council has made a number of improvements since our last inspection and has plans in place for further improvements. The Council has a good understanding of need and demand, has made significant improvements to its repairs service and is increasing the proportion of lets it gives to homeless people. It is aware it has some weaknesses and is working to fully develop its asset management strategy, to improve its approach to managing empty houses and to providing temporary accommodation.”

Councillor Allison Duncan, Vice-Chair of the Social Services Committee at Shetlands Islands Council said:

“I’m absolutely delighted that the housing regulator has identified some major improvements in the council’s performance since 2007. I’m particularly pleased to see comment on our improved understanding of housing need in Shetland and our provision of good supporting strategies. Things have got much better too as regards repairs, temporary accommodation, our insight into costs and tackling homelessness. The improvements are very much due to the hard work and dedication of the Housing team and it’s splendid that the regulator has recognised that.

“We will be tackling the issues the regulator has pointed up as needing attention especially lets to homeless people, repairs inspections and asset management.”

NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS

1. Since Autumn 2009 Audit Scotland and the other scrutiny bodies have been taking a joint approach to planning scrutiny activity for local authorities that is proportionate and based on risk – shared risk assessment. The objectives of this approach are to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of scrutiny work and minimise the impact of scrutiny activity on the Council. The Assurance and Improvement Plan for Shetland Islands Council published on Audit Scotland’s website, set out the planned scrutiny activity for the Council for 2011/12 and included a targeted inspection by the Scottish Housing Regulator to review performance in perceived areas of risk. Shetland Islands Council Assurance & Improvement Plan

2. Full details of the Shetland Islands Council inspection report can be found on the Scottish Housing Regulator website at www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk

3. Shetland Islands Council is second smallest Local Authority area in Scotland. It is the most northerly Council comprising of more than 100 islands , 15 of which are inhabited. Shetland Islands Council owned and managed around 1,791 houses at the time of our inspection spread over 9 islands with over 50% of its stock in the Lerwick area.

4. The Scottish Housing Regulator came into operation on 1 April 2008. It is the successor to Communities Scotland’s Regulation & Inspection Division. It operates the powers and duties of the regulation of social housing which are set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. The Scottish Housing Regulator is an arm’s length executive agency of the Scottish Government. It has operational independence, while being accountable to Scottish Ministers and through them to the Scottish Parliament for the standard of its work.