Minute of Northern Lights Regional Network
Annual General Meeting
held onSaturday, 20thJune 2015
at Woodhill House, Westburn Road, Aberdeen
Present:- Attendee List at Appendix A
Item / Action1. / Opening Remarks
The meeting opened at 11.00 a.m. with a welcome to members and guests by Bill Chapman, Chairperson of the Northern Lights Regional Network, who went on to explain what the Regional Network was all about and what is National Engagement. Simply it means the ability to effectively give our views and bring national issues, which affect Tenants and Residents throughoutScotland, directly to the Scottish Government. No inter-mediaries, no external influences, just face to face contact with the people who matter and who make the policy that affects all. This AGM will give you the chance to :
• Meet the Regional Committee
• Receive a Report from the Chairperson
• Find out about the activities of the Regional Network
• Discuss topical issues and ask any questions
• Meet other Representatives from across our Region and
• Fill vacancies on the Committee from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire,
Moray, Shetland Islands and the Orkneys.
2. / Chairs Report
Bill first of all introduced Susan McLellan from the Scottish Government
and advised that her role has been to offer support and advice to the
Committee and that we were indeed indebted to her for the invaluable
assistance she has provided. (Susan then went through the house-
keeping rules and Agenda for the day).
Bill then went on to state that his task as Chairperson had been made
easier bythe enthusiasm, commitment and hard work undertaken by the
Committee this past year. He was grateful to Steven Christie as Vice
Chairperson, Leonora Montgomery as Secretary, Trudi Allan as Treasurer and the Members from AberdeenCity – Paul McMenemy,
Betty Simpson, Norma Groves and Sandy Rhynas and the Members
from Aberdeenshire – Bill Robertson, Linda Farquhar, Martin Coull and
Stanley Green MBE.
Some Committee Members were not seeking re-election this year and
whilst he thanked them all for the commitment and hard work on behalf
of their RTO’s and the Regional Network, he singled out two individuals
who have served as Office Bearers on the Committee. The first, Paul
McMenemy served as a very able Secretary at a time of great change for us.
The second was Stanley Green MBE who had been a Member of the
Regional Network since its inception and in that time had served as
Secretary, Vice Chair and latterly as Chairperson. Passionate about
Sheltered Housing and the supporting people charges, Stanley has taken thispassion to National level and has pressed all Housing
Ministers on the issue. It is fair to say that Stanley’s passion on this
matter extends well beyond the Regional. Like all the others not
returning, he will be greatly missed.
Bill stated that this morning’s presentation was on Tenant Participation
in the 21stCentury, and welcomed the Guest Speakers -Anne Cook from theScottish Government and Carol Hannaford from AberdeenCity
Council. Unfortunately, Amanda Gregory from Aberdeenshire Housing
Partnership had to offer her apologies. However, Bill stated that we
had been fortunate in attracting the “crème de la crème” of Tenant
Engagement at both Local and National level. Bill then asked both
Anne and Carol to provide a short introduction about themselves before
moving on to the discussion questions.
• Anne Cook, Tenant Participation Development Manager, Scottish
Government.
Anne stated that she was delighted to be at what was her 8thAGM!
She has spent of lot of years in Social Housing Service Team ensuring
that TP is recognised Nationally especially since the inception of the
Scottish Social Housing Charter (SSHC) and the Scottish Housing
Regulator (SHR). In 1980 she was in Renfrew Council and was
involved in TP at that time and TP has come a long way since then.
Moved to Scottish Government in 2001 and advised that she is
confident that the second year of the SSHC will improve things even
further for Tenants and Residents.
• Carol Hannaford, Tenant and Community Engagement Officer,
Aberdeen City Council.
Carol stated that she had been with Aberdeen City Council for 10
years in TP and feels that they have totally transformed TP in that time.
She was in an Administration role in South Africa at a Leonard
Cheshire Home catering for disabilities for all ages. Very passionate
about her TP role as she feels it’s really important to have Tenants
and Residents involved.
‘Tenant Participation in the 21st Century’
AQuestion and Answer Session then took place with the three main
Questions to the audience being:-
• ‘What do you think Tenant Participation is about’
• ‘Why should you engage’ and
• ‘Why did you join Tenant Participation’.
A good discussion followed with all taking part and sharing best practice.
The best answer we got on the day was to the question of ‘Why did you join Tenant Participation’ – ‘because I’m nosey!’
Bill gave thanks to all for their frank and honest contributions to the
discussion and we would now move on to the business end of our AGM.
3. / Business of the AGM
Bill stated that he was delighted to have been Chair of Region 2 for the
last year which has been very busy and exciting.
The Networks have made notable achievements and will continue to
move forward in influencing important National Policy developments.
An overview of the activities we have been involved with on your behalf
since our last AGM are -
• On 8th April 2014 there was an Inaugural Meeting of the SHR Liaison
Group. This Group meets quarterly and provides an excellent
opportunity for Tenants to engage directly with the Regulator.
• On 15th April 2014 the Chairs and Secretaries of all the Regions held
their regular Meeting.
• In June 2014 one of the Committee Members from Region 5 BEEM
(Borders, Edinburgh, East Lothian and Midlothian) presented a
workshopat the TIS Annual Conference on the background to how the
Regional Networks came into being and the work that they undertake.
• Committee Members attended events on the SSHC which were
commissioned by the Scottish Government and facilitated by TIS and
TPAS. The purpose of these events were to identify how Tenant and
Resident involvement in the Charter is progressing and to identify
areas of good practice. A Report on these events has now been
published which all should read and compare how they think their
Landlord is progressing in meeting the Charter Outcomes.
• In August 2014 the Committee were delighted that the Housing
(Scotland) Act 2014 received Royal Assent and became an Act of
Parliament. This was the culmination of several years of consultation
and responses from Regional Network Members who contributed fully
on behalf of all.
• The Tenant Priorities Team will be producing guidance on allocations,
initial tenancies and evictions.
• TIS/TPAS held events across the Country on the Housing Act funded
by the Scottish Government and produced a guide for Tenants/
Residents.
• On 23rd September 2014 the Chair and Secretary attended the
Regional Networks Chairs and Secretaries regular Meeting.
• On 7th October 2014 the Chairs of the Regional Networks continued
theirdialogue with the Housing Minister, Margaret Burgess, MSP, at their
regular Meeting and discussed a variety of topics including the Housing
Revenue Account, Welfare Reform, Constitutional Reform and Housing
in Scotland going forward.
• At the end of October the Regional Networks came together for
another National Conference in Edinburgh which was Chaired by
Steve Byrne of Highland and Argyll & Bute Regional Network (Region
1) and recalled that 10 years ago, Communities Scotland began talks
withTenant and Resident Groups across Scotland to establish a way
for them to become directly involved with the Scottish Government
to influence National Housing Policy.
We were delighted to have Margaret Burgess, Minister for Housing and
Welfare, who welcomed the opportunity to speak to Tenant/Resident
Representatives and to hear directly about the issues that matter to
them. She reminded Delegates that it is Tenants/Residents within
communities who witness the impact of Government Housing Policies
and she needs to know what ought and can be changed for the better.
The Minister thanked all those who had contributed to the development
of the 2014 Housing Act.
She noted the progress being made since the introduction of the Social
Housing Charter, with the focus now being directed towards Tenant
Scrutiny. The Minister was pleased that Government support for
Tenants and Landlords is available through ‘Stepping into Scrutiny’
training and learning programme.
Delegates also attended workshops on Universal Credit, Credit Union
and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014.
The Conference was ended by a brilliant, comic performance from
Anne Cameron and Margaret Anderson from South Ayrshire Council,
on a Tenant’s perspective on current Housing Policy matters.
• On the 7th to 9th November 2014 TPAS held their Annual Conference
whichsome Committee Members attended. A Committee Member
from Region 4 (Central Regional Network) presented a workshop on
the background to how the Regional Networks came into being and the
work they undertake on behalf of all.
• On 18th November 2014 Representatives from the Regional Networks
(including Bill as Chair) attended a Scottish Government Housing
Event. As the only Tenants attending, they were able to give insight
on aCollective Housing Strategy for Scotland. Tenants from the
RegionalNetworks will also be involved in the Housing Policy Planning
Group inthe future. Two Tenants from the Regional Networks will also
be involved in the Joint Housing Policy and Delivery Group to develop
andimplement the strategy.
• In December 2014 we responded to the Private Rented Sector
Consultations.
• On the 7th January 2015Tenant Representatives gave evidence to the
ICI(Infrastructure and Capital Investment) Committee on how SHR
Engagewith Tenants and Residents.
• On 27th January 2015Chairs and Secretaries attended their regular
Meeting and continued their discussions and noted that as a result of
TheSmith Commission, there had been a call to stop the roll out of
Universal Credit by the Scottish Government. However, the DWP had
since published the next roll out phase. The Networks agreed that
they would write to the Prime Minister to support the halt of the
implementation of Universal Credit.
Michael Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator
(SHR) and Lisa Peebles, Tenant Board Member, joined the Meeting
andgave a short presentation on the SHR’s first Annual Return on the
Charter.
• At the end of February 2015 the SHBVN (Scottish Housing Best Value
Network) held the first of a series of 3 events for Regional Networks
andother Tenant/Resident Representatives to meet and discuss HRA
Tenant/Resident Training.
4. / Minute of 24th May 2014AGM
This was proposed by Martin Coull and seconded by Leonora Montgomery as an accurate record of the Meeting and no Matters Arose.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer reported on the properly Audited Regional Account, the
details of running Account for the year 1st April 2014 to 31stMarch 2015 was as follows:
The opening balance from 1st April 2014 was £1,776.07 with total income received since then of £6,919.35, therefore the direct running costs of the Northern Lights Regional Network for the year has been £6,745.63. The total amount for the year to date in the Bank Account was £8,695.42
minus the direct running costs of £6,745.63 leaves the Network with a closing balance of £1,949.79. This balance was taken forward to the next Audit from April 2015 to April 2016.
A copy of this Report can be issued on request – please see Susan McLellan from the Scottish Government if you require this.
5. / Elections to the Committee
Nominations were received from Bill Chapman, Steven Christie, Leonora Montgomery, Trudi Allan, Bill Robertson, Betty Simpson, Martin Coull, Hilary Rennie, Pearl Smart and Iain Thomson. All of these Nominees were elected to the Committee.
6. / Close of AGM
Bill stated that the Regional Networks have been operating for 7 years now and feels that they have made a great difference to the way the Scottish Government has developed National Policy and that it is all the better as a result of your Regional Network Representatives taking the time to be involved. It is important that Tenants engage with their Landlords to provide good quality services to their Tenants.
Bill thanked Anne Cook and the Tenants Priority Team, in particular Susan McLellan, Annabel MacMillan and Shona Ritson who have supported us throughout the year.
Thanks also to all former Committee Members and a warm welcome to
the new Committee Members.
Our work with the Government to date has been a great step forward in involving RTO’s at the very early states of Policy development and we welcome this – we are still a young organisation and the Network will take time to establish itself and have effective communication so we accurately reflect the views of the communities we represent and we are encouraged by the progress to date.
Bill thanked all for attending and to now enjoy their Lunch!
Appendix A
Attendance List
Name / Organisation / Attended
Yes / No
Carol Hannaford / Aberdeen City Council / x
Pearl Smart / Aberdeen Housing Service Review Group / x
Amanda Gregory / Aberdeenshire Housing Partnership Group / x
Linda Farquhar / Aberdeenshire Council TPPT / x
Hilary Rennie / Aberdeenshire Council TPPT / x
Ruth Fraser / Aberdeenshire Council TPPT / x
Bill Chapman / AHPTA / x
Claire MacDonald / Castlehill Housing Association / x
Colin Stewart / Castlehill Housing Association / x
Alan Morrison / Castlehill Housing Association / x
Leonora Montgomery / Citywide Multi Storey Group / x
Ian Mackie / Citywide Multi Storey Group / x
Brenda Mackie / Citywide Multi Storey Group / x
Katie Taylor / Grampian Housing Association / x
Sandra MacIntyre / Grampian Housing Association / x
Betty Simpson / Greig Court Tenants & Residents Association / x
Flo Swanson / Greig Court Tenants & Residents Association / x
Sylvia Stobbart / MAHPTA / x
David Stobbart / MAHPTA / x
Irene Madden / Moray Housing Partnership / x
Katy Holmes / Moray Tenant Forum / X
Steven Christie / Moray Tenant Forum / X
Trudi Allan / Quarryhill Court Tenants Association / x
Paul McMenemy / Tenant and Resident Forum / x
Iain Thomson / Tenant and Resident Forum / x
Martin Coull / TAWRA / x
Sandy Rhynas / Tenants First Housing Co-operative Ltd / x
FlorenceCal-
Anglia / Aberdeen Housing Service Review Group / x
James Galbraith / Tenant and Resident Forum / x
In Attendance
Anne Cook / x
Susan McLellan / x
Apologies
Bill Robertson
Steven Christie
Katy Holmes
Amanda Gregory
Norma Groves
Paul McMenemy
Stanley Green MBE
Sandy Allan
Glenn Adcook
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