December 2024 round-up
The Social Housing Safety Network Scotland
The Social Housing Safety Network Scotland - providing a focus on tenant and resident safety
Thank you!
As we head towards the end of 2024, we’d like to thank all Network members for your support in contributing to and growing the Network again this year.
It’s been another great year for the Network; everyone whose membership has come up for renewal has decided to join us for another year… and we’ve also just hit a great milestone of 50 members!!
The office closes at 12 noon on Christmas Eve and re-opens from 9am on 6th January (however if any members do need anything urgently within this time please get in touch in the usual way and we will do our best to get back to you as soon as we can).
Extra discount on January asbestos training
We are very pleased to share an exclusive 10% discount for upcoming asbestos training from Housing H&S Compliance UK Ltd (HHSC) (this is on top of the already discounted member rate).
These courses all take place face-to-face in Glasgow, so as well as being full of useful information, the days will also be an excellent opportunity to network with and meet other members/colleagues in the sector.
To use the discount: simply book an HHSC January 2025 asbestos training courses, between now and the end of 2024. Discount automatically applied. Click the links below for more info on each course.
‘Legal Hour’ with Brodies LLP (FREE to members!)
Come and join us at the start of the New Year for a legal update and a look ahead to 2025. We’ll be hearing from Amy Anderson, Senior Associate at Brodies LLP who will provide a snapshot of the health and safety ‘legal scene’ and what we can expect to see on the horizon.
To welcome as many of our sector colleagues as possible, the session will be run virtually (live online) and is FREE to members.
Response from Brodies LLP, to question posed at The Social Housing Safety Network Tenant & Resident Safety Annual Conference on 21st November
Question
If a tenant or owner/occupier replaces windows/doors facing into the communal areas and these do not meet the required safety standards, can the social housing provider take steps to replace these windows/doors with those that comply with the required safety standards?
You can view the full response here (login details required).
Expert Insight updates
Our 'Expert Insights' are exclusive member documents which are written by specialists in the sector and provide 'answers to the questions you should be asking'.
Our Expert Insights on fire safety, gas safety and asbestos have all recently been updated by their respective authors, and the new versions can be downloaded from the website (Login details required).
Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) ‘The risks we will focus on - November 2024’
Each year, the SHR assesses risk in social landlords to determine what assurance they need from them and what they may need to improve. In their ‘The risks we will focus on – November 2024’ publication the SHR describes which risks they will focus on.
We have put together key information from the SHR publication into an e-bulletin, to focus on tenant and resident safety.
It is clear that landlords have a range of statutory obligations in this area, so the SHR will (rightly so) continue with their focus on tenant and resident safety.
Our bulletin which summarises some of the key information focusing on tenant and resident safety can be downloaded here.
Scotland Safety Network Advisory Panel (SSNAP)
Our new 'Scotland Safety Network Advisory Panel' (SSNAP) is formed of the co-founders of The Social Housing Safety Network Scotland alongside a small group of tenant and resident / compliance / health and safety colleagues from within member organisations operating in the social housing sector who have volunteered to help shape the network, bringing ideas and expertise together to drive the network forward.
Following the formation of the group, we recently held our first introduction meeting - it was fantastic to hear how passionate all the group members are about developing good practice, sharing ideas and supporting the development and growth of the network.
We're feeling really positive about the positive impact SSNAP is going to have on the Network and the benefits this will bring to all of our members!
FREE webinars
Our ‘Back to Basics’ series of webinars takes a look at a specific safety-related subject and tell you what you should be doing to comply with the Regulations and standards – sometimes, it's about more than holding a certificate or assessment and ticking a box...
Discounted training from HHSC
Members of the Social Housing Safety Network Scotland always get a discounted rate on all training run by Housing H&S Compliance UK Ltd (HHSC). To view all the upcoming training you can either visit the website or download the brochure.
One of the upcoming courses is the IFSM Accredited Understanding Fire Doors and Carrying Out Inspections, which has been created specifically for Scotland. Click here for more details.
We are also running our popular three-day IOSH Managing Safely? in Social Housing training course again. Click here for more details.