Do community councils have the right to nominate to the Housing Area Boards?

Community Councils do not have an automatic right of membership of the Housing Area Boards. Should a Community Council wish membership, a request should be made to the Chair of the appropriate Housing Area Board.

Each Housing Area Board has been allocated £500,000 per year for the financial years 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 (£1M over 2 years). The money for 2006/2007 is dependent on the ballot outcome.

How often do the Boards meet and do all the Board members get together occasionally to share experiences and discuss common ground?

Each Housing Area board must meet at least once every three months but in practice most Boards meet monthly. Board members will be able to meet together, for example at training sessions and there will also be at least one annual full-day event to share ideas and develop good practice.

How do representatives on the Board make sure that they represent all the views of their community?

Each Area Board has a budget and two dedicated staff members to assist them to distribute information and gather views from the wider community. Area Boards are encouraged to circulate a regular newsletter to provide information, describe how residents can make their views known and feed back on progress. Boards are also be encouraged to organise regular consultation events and meetings. Some specifically targeted, for example, to sheltered housing tenants or young people.

Board members continue to be involved with their own residents’ groups and hear directly from their own members at meetings. Councillors continue to gather views from their constituents at meetings and their local surgeries.

More generally, Area Boards are encouraged to support the development of local tenant participation arrangements.

What is the Area Board structure and reporting mechanism? What relationship do they have with the Shadow Board of the new City of Edinburgh Housing Association?

Tenant representatives – most from Registered Tenants Organisations (RTOs) – and some local councillors have the majority of places. The chair of each Area Board is an RTO representative.

Do the Area Boards have dedicated and ring-fenced budgets, including capital and revenue?

The Boards currently have responsibility for the Neighbourhood Improvement Programme budget, which is an existing Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme budget. The funding for this type of work is to be expanded and is likely to total £10m over the first two years.

In future, it is likely that Housing Area Boards will have a strong influence over more general expenditure, both capital and revenue. As the Boards develop and strengthen, it is possible that further budget decision-making will be devolved directly to them.

What do we do if we want to improve security in our neighbourhood? Do we contact the relevant Area Board or the local Council area office?

Your local Area Board now makes environmental spending decisions. Any proposals should be sent to the local area office marked for the attention of the Area Board. The Neighbourhood Manager has responsibility to prepare detailed project briefs with assistance from other appropriate resources across the Department. Residents should continue to contact staff at the local office for general assistance.

How will private owners be encouraged to contribute to communal projects?

Joining the Community Ownership Programme means that up to £75 million will become available to work with owners in mixed tenure estates to assist them to contribute to common maintenance and improvements. The Council is developing a range of assistance to help owners pay for these improvements and repairs including financial advice, loans and in certain cases where owners face financial difficulties, top up grants.

Owners will also be able to attend Area Board meetings if they wish and if nominated by their local RTO will be able to become a Board member.

What role will the Area Boards have in co-ordinating service delivery across Council departments?

The new Local Community Planning Partnerships will have a key role in co-ordinating service delivery, as does the Council’s neighbourhood management approach with its emphasis on working together. Area Boards will have close working links with the new LCPPs. For further information about the LCPPs, please contact:

Norma Cuthbertson (Regeneration and Local Community Planning Manager) CEC Corporate Services Department, Strategic Support Services, 12 St Giles Street, Edinburgh EH1 1PT .Tel 0131 469 3816. Fax 0131 469 3574. E-mail norma.cuthbertson@edinburgh.gov.uk

What will be expected of Area Board members? How much of a time commitment will this be?

At minimum Board members will be expected to attend Board meetings whenever possible. Beyond that there are endless opportunities for involvement.

What kind of training is provided for Board members?

This has still to be agreed but it is likely that general training will be provided to help them play their part in the Board. If there is demand, members may also be able to access training to SVQ level in relevant topics such as housing policy as well as skills training such as public speaking.

What kinds of support do board members have?

Dedicated staff from the Housing Service provide support with organising meetings, taking minutes etc.

Board members are able to apply for out of pocket expenses.

We will also explore how Board members can best access a computer and the Internet. This will ensure that we are able to communicate via e-mail, cutting down on the number of meetings and providing instant access to the latest news and reports.

Now that I have been nominated, how long I am a Board member for?

This has still to be determined - but we would expect you to commit for at least one year.

Do co-opted members have a vote?

Yes

How has councillor involvement been encouraged? Are they committed to this process?

All Councillors who have more than fifty council houses in their ward were invited to join the Area Boards.

Councillors recognise that an important part of improving housing conditions in Edinburgh is enhanced local involvement in the way the Housing Service is delivered.

Councillors have agreed that RTOs should form the majority board membership.

Will Area Boards have an involvement in Area Regeneration Projects?

Generally it is locally based steering groups, made up of members of the community who are set up to take forward specific regeneration projects. Area Boards will take an interest in and support local regeneration work but will not replace existing steering groups.

My RTO crosses two area board boundaries. Do we have the right to representation on both boards?

Registered Tenant Organisation (RTO) representation must be on one Housing Area Board only. This should be the one where the majority of the RTO members live. Where an RTO identifies a project within its boundary, which is covered by another Housing Area Board, it should bring this to the attention of the Board on which it has representation. The project will then be referred to the appropriate Housing Area Board with a request to attend the meeting at which the proposal is discussed to give neighbourhood information.

Do community councils have the right to nominate to the Housing Area Boards?

Community Councils do not have an automatic right of membership of the Housing Area Boards. Should a Community Council wish membership, a request should be made to the Chair of the appropriate Housing Area Board.