September 2024 round-up
The Social Housing Safety Network Scotland
The Social Housing Safety Network Scotland - providing a focus on tenant and resident safety
Annual Conference 2024: Full programme announced!
We are delighted to share our FULL Annual Conference 2024 programme, which can be downloaded here.
For more details and to book places, you can also visit the online conference page. Thank you very much to those who have already booked - we look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible!
FREE Network Get Together: District Heating & Biomass Energy Centre - Member Visit
22nd October, Glasgow
We’re delighted that Grant Clayton, Director of West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative, will share a fascinating insight into the ‘start to finish’ journey the organisation has taken and will share:
? A background on WWHC as a housing co-operative and how they approach landlord H&S compliance
? The journey of the district heating project; from feasibility to completion and the challenges along the way
? How the district heating project was funded and how WWHC set the tariffs
? H&S compliance tasks specific to the energy centre building and how this is managed.
We will finish off the session with a tour of the biomass energy centre building.
You can download the flyer here and email [email protected] to book a space (places are limited).
Govanhill Housing Association: Tenant Health and Safety Handbook
Communicating with and educating tenants and residents on key areas around health and safety has never been more important.
After several months of building a tenant health and safety handbook, Govanhill Housing Association have now delivered this to all tenants.
Huge thanks to Amanda Blewitt at Govanhill who has shared the handbook with us here at the network; you can access the handbook via our website.
We’re also very pleased to say that you can hear from Amanda and her journey of how the handbook was created and why, plus what the feedback from tenants has been, at our Annual Conference.
September’s safety campaigns
September has seen several ‘safety weeks’ take place; you can find out more about each one via the links below:
Scottish Housing Day 2024
Last week was this year’s Scottish Housing Day. This year, Scottish Housing Day focused on Homes for Life, encouraging people to think about how the housing sector can better support people in later life as needs and priorities change.
The population is ageing faster in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, and as people grow older their housing needs can change. This might require some simple adaptations to make homes more accessible, technology to support day-to-day activities, or planning to move to a more suitable home that’s closer to family or local amenities, or easier to manage.
To find out more about Scottish Housing Day visit the dedicated website.
Asbestos statistics published
The most recent statistics for mesothelioma, a cancer caused by past exposure to asbestos, show 2,257 people died from the disease in 2022,
This is slightly lower than the 2,290 deaths in 2021, and substantially lower than the average of 2,529 deaths per year over the period from 2012 to 2020.
HSE is currently running two asbestos campaigns:
? Asbestos and You highlights the risk of asbestos to tradespeople
? Asbestos – Your Duty raises awareness of the legal duty to manage asbestos in buildings
Housing H&S Compliance UK Ltd (HHSC) have the following upcoming asbestos training courses. (Discounted rate available for members).
IATP Approved Asbestos Awareness
The IATP Approved Asbestos Awareness session has been designed to be split into three ‘toolbox’ sessions so it’s easy for delegates to digest the information.
IATP Approved Duty to Manage Asbestos
Our IATP Approved Duty to Manage course is aimed at duty holders and appointed persons under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2021, the Duty to Manage Asbestos in Non-Domestic Premises.
Understanding Your Asbestos Survey Reports
Asbestos surveys are an essential part of an organisation’s asbestos management ‘toolkit’. The aim of this session is to improve knowledge and awareness of the contents of an asbestos survey, the caveats that may be included and what you should do know that you have the information.
Other upcoming training courses from HHSC
All of the training courses, delivered by subject-specialist practitioners, have been developed specifically for those colleagues operating in the social housing sector and include information that is relevant to the day to day work of many different job roles, including officers, managers, leaders and board members.
Upcoming courses for the rest of this year include:
HHSC training T&Cs
Here’s a quick reminder of the cancellation policy for all public HHSC training…
Cancellations must be made in writing (including email) and the following applies:
? OVER 21 calendar days’ notice – full refund with no fees payable
? 8-21 calendar days’ notice – 50% charge
? 7 or less calendar days’ notice – full fees payable, no refunds.
Substitute delegates will be welcome with no penalty charge as long as they can fulfil the delegate criteria. Full T&Cs can be found here.
FREE ‘Back to Basics’ webinar series
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…
These are free to members, and non-members are welcome to join us for a fee.
Find out more on our events page.