Present
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Present |
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George Walker (GW) |
SHR Chair |
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Andrew Watson (AW) |
SHR Deputy Chair |
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Siobhan White (SW) |
SHR Board member & ARAC Chair |
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Ewan Fraser (EW) |
SHR Board member |
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Helen Trouten Torres (HTT) |
SHR Board member |
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Lindsay Paterson (LP) |
SHR Board member |
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Marieke Dwarshuis (MD) |
SHR Board member |
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Colin Stewart |
SHR Board member |
In attendance at the meeting |
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Michael Cameron (MC) |
SHR Chief Executive |
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Helen Shaw (HS) |
SHR Director of Regulation |
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Iain Muirhead (IM) |
SHR Director of Digital & Business Support |
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Roisin Harris (RH) |
SHR Corporate Governance Manager |
Welcome, apologies & declarations
GW welcomed all present to the Board meeting.
CS declared a conflict of interest regarding SHR’s Tenant Liaison Group and his role as Chair of Tenants Together Scotland, from which the group is drawn. There were no other declarations of interest.
There were no apologies.
Spending Controls
MC presented SHR’s proposed approach to emergency spending controls. He explained that the Scottish Government has confirmed that the request applies to public bodies, and the Board noted the letter to SHR from the Cabinet Secretary. MC also explained that SHR’s capacity to generate savings is limited as the bulk of SHR’s costs relate to staff and the budget lines for discretionary activities are relatively small. He also set out that any savings would in the first instance contribute to reducing SHR’s projected overspend in 2024/25. MC reported that there is likelihood that SHR would be able to return some capital funding and this would be assessed at mid-year.
The Board considered the context for the Scottish Government’s request and discussed:
- Scottish Government expectations for implementation;
- relationship with the annual budget setting exercise; and
- if capital funding could be returned sooner than mid-year.
MC walked the Board through some specific areas of spend and the options for SHR to consider across individual budget lines.
The Board considered the specific spend areas set out by MC and discussed:
- catering, agreeing it was appropriate to offer basic catering for external meetings as well as explore more virtual meetings to achieve savings;
- expenses for tenants;
- commitments made publicly by SHR around engaging with the National Panel,
- training and development; and
- the importance of interactions at conferences and sharing that learning.
MC highlighted an example of how the interim spend controls are working, explaining that while SHR deemed attendance at the SFHA’s finance conference essential, it has reduced the volume of delegates, how long they will attend for and how they will attend to achieve some modest savings.
The Board agreed it was content with the proposed framework approach to considering spend proposals and approved it for implementation, noting this included a temporary change to SHR’s Standing Orders. It noted that potential revenue savings are in general at the margins, but that there is likelihood that SHR will be able to return capital funding to Scottish Government after mid-year.
The Board considered decision making around specific areas and proposals for the spend decisions that would come to it around all research and consultancy commissions. IM explained that there is currently a contractual option to extend the National Panel commission for one further year and that engagement with the consultant around work plans is normally around this time. The Board approved the proposed decision-making framework, subject to the changes agreed, and agreed to consider the National Panel when it meets on 8 October 2024 and it would at that time also consider if there is other work that SHR will not proceed with due to spend constraints.
The Board noted EF has submitted apologies for the 8 October meeting, but will provide views in writing to the Chair.
Action: MC to propose options for work with the National Panel in 2024/25 to the Board in October 2024.
AOB & DONM
GW provided an update on Board recruitment, highlighting that the new member will start on 1 October 2024 and plans to discuss the skills and experience needed for recruitment to the Board during 2025. He also reported that work is ongoing with a couple of members regarding potential reappointments to second terms.
GW reported that the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government Housing and Planning Committee has issued a call for views from stakeholders ahead of SHR’s Annual Report and Accounts scrutiny. GW reported SHR is likely to be invited to attend in December 2024.
The Board noted that it will meet on 8 October 2024.