Introduction

Scottish Homes was established under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988. It was formed out of a merger of the Scottish Special Housing Association and the Housing Corporation in Scotland.

The aim of the organisation is to further the Government's objectives for housing by improving substantially the quality of housing and the variety of housing options available in Scotland. In so doing Scottish Homes seeks to contribute to the economic and social well-being of communities.

Scottish Homes core functions are: the funding of housing provision, primarily by registered housing associations but also by private developers and by individuals, and the funding of associated social and environmental works; the management of housing; the disposal of its housing (It currently owns some 30,000 houses having inherited 74,000 houses on its formation) by way of large scale voluntary transfer or by individual sale (through Right to Buy etc); the regulation of housing associations registered in Scotland; and policy development and research and the provision of housing information and advice.

Its structure, from 1 April 1997, is based on a headquarters function (Strategy and Performance, Finance and Regulation, Organisation Development and Communications) located in Edinburgh and a field network of 5 Regions based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, Dundee and Inverness. In addition the Housing Management function is discharged through a network of District and Area Offices.

Scottish Homes is a body corporate whose members are not more than 9 persons appointed by the Secretary of State and its Chief Executive (whose membership is ex-officio). Members reflect a range of housing, business, academic and professional experience.

Achievements in 1996/97

Notable achievements in 1996/97 included:

• the provision of 7,015 new and improved houses thereby generating £176m of private investment in housing;

• the introduction of a revised regulation strategy designed to improve the performance of registered housing associations;

• the completion of the second national Scottish House Condition Survey on behalf of the Secretary of State;

• a strategic and organisational review leading to a closer focus on multi-sectoral community regeneration and a shift of resources from headquarters to the field network; and
• the disposal of 10,315 houses to alternative landlords or to individuals thereby realising receipts of £105m.

Citizens Charter was awarded in 1995 and has been sustained.

Plans for 1997/98

The focus of activity will be on the implementation of Scottish Homes new strategy and organisation, in particular developing working partnership roles in order to maximise its investment impact throughout Scotland. The house disposal programme will continue with the planned transfer and sale of a further 11,000 houses. Improvements will be made in the measurement of performance, in particular in the wider economic and social impact of investment activity. Continuous gains in management efficiency and effectiveness will be made. Application will be made for Investors in People accreditation.

Key Performance Targets
	1994/95		1995/96		1996/97		1997/98
Key Measure	Set	Achieved	Set	Achieved	Set	Achieved	Set
Owner occupation	6000	5991	5600	5655	4725	5008	2900
Tenure Diversification	15640	13096	14270	13358	13000	13364	13700
Particular housing needs	2000	2137	2550	2619	1950	2083	1550
Provision for homelessness	2500	2415	2725	2770	2600	2656	2600
New and improved units -Quality	8000	9167	8500	9107	6250	7015	4500
Community Regeneration	1150	981	1428	1108	950	1138	4500
Leverage	66.7	62.96	60.0	60.16	56.5	52.0	54.0
Private Finance	160	184	175	208	160	191	125