Background

We will establish the ‘Glasgow Private Rental  Sector (PRS) Working Group’, a community based representative organisation which will challenge several aspects of Scottish national policy on the Private Rental Sector (PRS) and examine alternative methods for delivering services in a more co-ordinated fashion in the city.  There has been much muttering and hand-wringing with few practical ideas. Such is the impact of poorly regulated PRS in some areas of Glasgow that residents are extremely worried and it is no exaggeration to say it challenges social cohesion. Areas like Govanhill are well-known but similar problems exist across the city from Dennistoun in the east to Cardonald in the west. A public meeting in Cardonald in August, called to discuss the local issue, was attended by 450 people from different Glasgow neighbourhoods. The Working Group will be an apolitical, community-led response to address these the way the Council delivers services to the PRS in relation to issues such as enforcement of planning/licensing decisions, response to anti-social behaviour, landlord registration and compliance.

 Is Glasgow City too big an area to manage responses to what are effectively neighbourhood problems? 

A straw poll of residents flagged up the following challenges/responses:-         

• Glasgow City Council’s recent ‘Rogue Landlord’ initiative seems a knee-jerk reaction to the problems and offers no practical solutions. As examples of barriers to success we can cite lack of enforcement resources, actual fines levied much lower than prescribed, reluctance of fiscal to prosecute, reluctance of council to prosecute because fines do not offset costs, council decisions not to prosecute despite clear breaches of planning law.           
• Is the justice system adequate? What happened to the 2004 CIH report on Housing Courts and alternatives? 
• Is the Landlord Registration Scheme operating effectively? The council’s own figures show this to be patchy and a critical report from SG highlights its shortcomings. 
• Like social housing, is there a need for a national regulator for the PRS to set standards and monitor local councils’ performance?  
• Why is there no coordination between social and private rented housing policy? Recent data suggests growth in the PRS. In practice many locations in Glasgow include a mix of social and private housing so reluctance to deal with the problem in a unified way nullifies any good intentions.

 We want the new group not just to be critical but to study the problem from a community perspective and to propose solutions. To do so, we need to commission research into alterative models and to challenge the orthodoxy of current legislation. Representation on SG’s Private Rented Sector Group is skewed towards civil servants and large organisations who, presumably, ‘know best’. Community representation is limited to a virtual group who can comment but not contribute. The proposed work programme up to March 2012 leaves no room for any radical suggestions from the community perspective . 

FAQs   

o When will it kick off?

Within four weeks with a public meeting at Govanhill Housing Association. 

o One of the key issues is the failure to regulate private housing as conscientiously as social housing and the    GHA agrees•   Why is this urgent? 

PRS is growing in importance. The amount of public cash devoted to new social housing is limited and cannot meet existing demand. Add to this increased demand from the bigger number of households, inability of young couples to buy their own starter home, likely casualties from repossessions. The SG seems to believe a  laissez-faire approach will suffice. 

o Can we produce the evidence ie pictures, detailed statements and interviews with people from across the                city? 

We believe we can cite ‘hundreds’ of examples where the council has not met its obligations. We are in touch with experts and hope we can use their expertise to launch some original work financed by charitable trusts such as Joseph Rowntree.  Beyond this, the intention would be to sponsor new legislation within the life of this parliament.

30th November 2011

To view a flier promoting a new book which celebrates the achievements of Scotland’s community land movement click here

Author: TFN - 17th Nov 2011

AROUND a fifth of Scotland’s 1,514 community councils are not currently operating because of a lack of interest from the public, new research has found.

And 90 per cent of those that are in operation do not have elections.

Concerns were raised this week that Scotland’s community councils are increasingly undemocratic and likely to cease to exist at all.

Community councils have a statutory role in planning, licensing and other areas. However, the research, uncovered by the BBC, found that most communities are not represented through them.

Only eight council areas still have all their community councils operating, with 229 community councils currently suspended nationwide.

The least number of community councils is in Dundee City, where only 15.8 per cent currently operate. North Lanarkshire has the second lowest at 47.5 per cent.

Rural areas seem to be more committed to the continuation of the schemes – all the community councils in Orkney continue to operate and 55 per cent hold regular elections.

Vincent Waters, president of the Association of Scottish Community Councils (ASCC), said that the councils need to attract more younger people.

“What you get varies massively,” he said. “You can have one operating incredibly effectively that’s championing a range of local causes. And then you can have a community council next door where it’s half a dozen or so of the weel kent local worthies whose interests are their own interests.”

Waters said community councils need a greater sense of purpose and more legislative powers in order to become attractive to younger people.

“If community councils stay as they are just now, within 10 years time – give or take – they’ll be dead,” he said.

The ASCC also recently announced it would be closing in April 2012, leaving no national body to support community councils.

The Scottish Government, however, has indicated it is creating a working group on the future of community councils.

Local government minister Aileen Campbell said: “They’re an important body within the governance of our country and we need to support them and make sure they’re the best that they can be,” she said.

“We just need to find out what ways we can best support community councils to make sure that they can flourish and to make sure that folk know that these are good things to get involved with.”

Where the cuts hurt most

The initial phase of work has comprised two case studies that focus on experiences in two different communities – east Govan in Glasgow and the Gallatown neighbourhood of Kirkcaldy. The aim has been to learn more about specific circumstances and to deepen understanding of the effects of public spending reductions. 

The main focus has been on the lived experience and perspectives of residents, businesses, voluntary sector support bodies and public sector service organisations.

Five key messages to come out of the two case studies :

1. False economies – the reverse of preventative spend

There is a disproportionately negative impact on disadvantaged communities from the effect of relatively minor centralised ‘savings’ in basic physical maintenance regimes. Examples given included reductions in arrangements for grass cutting, litter and refuse collection, fence and road mending, lighting and landscaping. There was a perception of negative impacts on performance from the ‘contracting out’ of such services.

The resultant decline in physical appearance was seen to have damaged internal and external perceptions of place and people. It was noted that such decline repels the prospect of new external investments and undermines existing ones. It also erodes community resilience and residents personal investment at a time of increased local social land economic pressures.

2. Blocked systems – stymied aspirations

Despite initial media speculation on a ‘white collar recession’, the reality is that residents of disadvantaged areas have been particularly affected by stagnation in the employment market. This has had the effect of blocking off opportunities for young people and others seeking employment, training and further education. In addition to the thwarting of individual hopes and ambitions, the stagnation has also built up pressure on local employment support organisations; threatening their business plans, future sustainability and therefore their ability to deliver an increasingly important local service. Within this blocked system there was evidence of the continuing additional difficulties faced by minority groups and people with particular needs who continue to suffer from negative discrimination in accessing what limited opportunities still exist.

The same blockage phenomenon is evident with regard to local housing where those who have bought find they can’t sell. The lack of lending and capital means that there is little new house building for rent or sale. The resultant stagnation has halted plans for supporting the greater local economic diversification intended to support wider regeneration agendas. It also locks young people out and confines growing children and families into inadequate accommodation with obvious wider negative effects.

There was evidence that some householders who cannot sell go on to rent out their properties to individuals with no long-term commitment to the area or understanding of their community responsibilities. This was said to be a significant factor in local decline of the community. It was noted that this tended to be an especially rapid process in blocks of flats and one which can instigate a highly damaging ‘domino’ effect over the surrounding streets and then the wider community.

3. Fractured plans – lost investments

Regeneration partners have long been urged to work together for a ‘joined up approach’ to plans and investments. The prolonged stalling of private sector physical development investment is seen to be resulting in the fracturing and failure of previously agreed regeneration strategies and master-plans. This is especially the case in disadvantaged areas which are most vulnerable in the current recession to the ‘flight to prime’ of both private and public investments.

The effect is to leave existing regeneration related investments isolated and therefore economically unsustainable. Long term derelict land and empty or underused buildings produce further erosion of local image and investment confidence as referred to in point 4.1 above. There is also evidence of postponed or abandon private sector investment resulting in the loss of anticipated community benefits in terms of facilities and resources previously negotiated via formal and informal planning consultation processes.

4  Small cuts – Reverse empowerment

Disadvantaged communities often have responsive internal support networks based on social connections, projects and services developed over time in response to local needs and conditions. The Scottish Government is increasingly interested in the possibility of building on this network of activity to deliver greater community empowerment. This is currently being promoted as a potentially vital alternative source of community regeneration in the face of reduced external investment.

Evidence from the case studies indicates that cuts in relatively small scale grants and contracts provided to local services and social enterprises are undermining the basis for community empowerment as a way out of the currently accelerated cycle of decline in disadvantaged areas. The loss of capacity in local support organisations cuts off two-way partnership activity pipelines at the local level. It also damages prospects for services, opportunities, vitality, and social cohesion at a time of higher stresses within disadvantaged communities, homes and individuals. This is seen as the opposite of the ‘preventative spend’ approach, which was recently vaunted by the Scottish Government in its September 2011 Spending Review.

5.  Sense of abandonment – or all boats falling?

Beyond the issue of adequately resourcing and delivering basic public services, there is perceived to have been a general shift away from investment in broad-based support for long-standing economically disadvantaged communities. There was some evidence of communities feeling somewhat abandoned as the focus, and dedicated support resources, for disadvantaged areas is seen to diminish in the recession while national economic pressures on jobs and services increase local difficulties and demands.

It was noted that, for reasons of cost efficiency, locally developed and valued services are being spread increasingly thinly across wider geographies, resulting in loss of local service impact and ownership. In this context, there was some concern that what is seen as continuing and necessary limited and targeted investment in specific thematic groups – who still suffer discrimination and disadvantage on a wider and more dispersed geography – could appear divisive to some in contrast to the draining away of broader support for the more general local population.

Where people power can change things

The twelve ‘domains’ which Cormac Russell believes can be fundamentally changed by local people taking action at a community level can be viewed HERE

Author: Andy Wightman - Bella Caledonia

This blog was first published at Bella Caledonia on 29 September 2011

Ofcom, in accordance with section 104(1) of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (“the 1990 Act”) (as amended by the Communications Act 2003 and as modified by the Community Radio Order 2004 and further modified by the Community Radio (Amendment) Order 2010), invites applications for licences to provide community radio services in localities within Scotland. This part of the United Kingdom is shown as Area 2 on the map in Annex 2 to this notice. These licences are being offered for the provision of services on either the FM (VHF) waveband or the AM (medium wave) band, for an initial maximum period of five years from the commencement of broadcasting.

No applications may be made in relation to any areas or localities in the United Kingdom outside Scotland.

The closing-date for the receipt of completed applications will be 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday 14 February 2012. A non-refundable fee of £600 will be payable for each application submitted and considered

See full document here

Storas Uibhist will be marking its fifth anniversary as elected, community owners of South Uist Estate with a seminar which, characteristically, is more interested in looking forward to the next five years than basking in the successes that have already been achieved. Mind you, there are plenty of these to bask in — a fact that has sometimes got lost in the war of attrition (and worse) waged against the organisation by a small number of detractors. Fortunately, the votes of the great majority have at each crucial point acted as a necessary bulwark, which is the great safeguard inherent in community ownership. Nobody gets a vote on private landlordism.

So Storas Uibhist overcame attempts to block the Askernish project. They have taken the Loch Carnan windfarm to the point of development, having faced down the attempt from within their own community to hijack the essential grid connection. They have put together a formidable funding package for the transformational developments at Lochboisdale, in spite of attempts to dissuade key funders from supporting it — again from within South Uist itself.

There is a great deal else besides. Storas Uibhist is a substantial, multi-faceted enterprise. A vast amount of work has been put in by the elected directors, past and present. Sometimes they have had to take decisions which, by their nature, could not be universally popular. Like any such organisation, they will have got most right and a few wrong. Throughout the five years, they have had to suffer attempts to undermine the whole concept of community ownership, eagerly abetted by the media connections of the disgruntled.

But they have come through it all with flying colours, building the potential for economic progress which could only have been dreamt of and spoken about, but never brought to fruition, while the land was under private ownership. They deserve a lot of respect. The next five years will see the groundwork being turned into solid achievement. With the wind farm in operation — complete with grid connection — there will also be a steady revenue source to support more ideas, more enterprises, more jobs.

It is worth noting that all the external bodies which helped bring the biggest buy-out in the short history of this movement to fruition five years ago have maintained their commitment to it, one hundred per cent. The Big Lottery and HIE have been constantly harassed by those whose mission is to wreck the whole thing. It would have been easy to hedge bets or put their money elsewhere. Instead, they have looked for themselves then remained constant in their support.

Storas Uibhist has a lot to celebrate as the five-year landmark approaches and also a lot of work in progress. It is a good moment to pause and take stock not only of the specifics in South Uist, Eriskay and Benbecula but also of the wider state of the land reform movement and what needs to be done in order to revive it. And that is not too difficult to define.

There will be no fifth birthday celebrations of buy-outs over the next few years because there haven’t been any recently. Indeed, the movement just about ground to a halt after Storas Uibhist got across the line. That was certainly the last big buy-out to be supported by the Scottish Land Fund for the simple reason that the Scottish Land Fund ceased to exist, subsumed into the generality of lottery funding.

Political support for community buy-outs also seemed to evaporate. By that I mean more than the ritual of elected politicians nodding sagely and saying that community ownership is a good thing. Someone needs to drive the process, make demands, cajole for funding and also the legislative changes that would make the process easier and open it up to more communities, both crofting and non-crofting. None of that has happened. There is now an organisation, Community Land Scotland, which is setting the agenda, but it needs political support There is certainly no shortage of demand for the Gigha/North Harris/South Uist etc etc experience to be repeated elsewhere. There are dozens of communities, particularly in the West Highlands and Islands,which are anxious to promote community buy-outs. But without access to the funding which is necessary to support their ambitions in the early stages, then these initiatives will inevitably fade away and whatever momentum remains in this movement will be lost. This is now an urgent danger.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise continues to do excellent work in supporting buy-out organisations wherever possible. But there is only so much they can do on severely limited funds. HIE has faced serious budget cuts over the past few years and we are now told that the budgets  of both it and Scottish Enterprise are to be further raided by the Scottish Government to pay for its own priorities.

That makes it all the more necessary for a distinct Scottish Land Fund, with its own budget line, to be created. When the last one was established more than a decade ago, the chosen route for funding was through the National Lottery — a pragmatic solution at the time but always, as events proved, one which was vulnerable to competition from other demands upon Lottery resources, particularly those from Scotland’s urban communities. Once the Scottish Land Fund ceased to be ring-fenced, it was a dead duck.

Land reform is too important to rural communities to be left to any Lottery. It needs to reflect a sincerely-held sense of political priority. And in order to justify and sustain that status, it also needs to be capable of demonstrating economic and social returns. That is why the achievements of community-owned estates over the past dozen years need to be trumpeted a lot more loudly.

Quite simply, none of the exciting, positive inititiatives which are now being pressed ahead with — from Galson in the north down to Gigha in the south — could have happened without the change in ownership which underpins them and the democratic involvement that has driven them forward. Of course there will be people who retain a vested interest in the old order and have no wish to acknowledge what the new one is capable of delivering.

Just as has happened in South Uist, such views must be resisted by those who currently have political responsibility in Scotland. There needs to be some positive signs of support for the expansion of community land ownership and by far the most effective way of demonstrating it would be the early announcement of a new Scottish Land Fund. Where better than in South Uist on Friday?

16/11/11

Author: Ross Martin, Scotsman, 9/11/11

PICTURE the scene. Dusk is setting in, the air is beginning to chill and as time-poor commuters rush by on their way home, the resource-rich display of fruit and veg outside the corner store is being taken in for the night by the local shopkeeper. Next door, the newsagent is shutting up shop and is heading for the hairdresser after another 12-hour day, which began at dawn, organising the papers to be delivered to front doors throughout the local community.

The hairdresser has expanded, with a training facility and is open longer hours to cope with demand and the harsh, bright light which would normally be bursting through their huge floor-to-ceiling front window is softened by the condensation, which betrays the temperature difference, outside and in.

The pharmacy on the other side of the road has also extended its opening hours, offering an increasingly wide variety of services, which is taking the load off the GPs’ clinic that has itself been over-stretched by the ageing national demographic.

As the staff finish cleaning up at the local café, ensuring they have all the necessary supplies to turn out tomorrow’s lunches, snacks and that essential of modern living, quality coffee, the chip shop owner fires up the deep fat fryers, watching over the school student staff behind his counter. These mid-to-late teens learn a lot in this simple transactional business, earning their first wages, while also having that priceless asset of an employment culture embedded in their psyche.

A little way along the road, the staff of the Chinese takeaway and those of the neighbouring Indian restaurant arrive at the end of their respective daily routes to an evening of serving mostly grateful, but occasionally drunk and aggressive, members of the local community. Next door, the local Asian shopkeeper, with his mini-market store still open, fights for survival against the purchasing and pricing power of the recently opened superstore, situated in the adjoining settlement.

At the rail station, as the 17:30 from the city pulls in, 50 or 60 commuters prepare to alight, the majority of whom head quietly, individually, alone for their cars in the free parking provided by the local council. A few take the dozen or so steps across the car park access road making for the local pub to enjoy a well-earned glass or two with acquaintances they’ve made in that welcoming, warm convivial environment.

On a Friday, this pub is the hub for different sections of society throughout the evening, starting with the tradesmen who finish at 4pm, followed by the suits from the city between 5pm and 6pm and then the volume cranks up as the 20-somethings arrive for their pre-town drinks, getting in some dancing practice as well.

This vibrant, energetic and friendly mix represents large parts of the community, with a few locals of a more mature vintage taking up their usual positions on the bar stools, dispensing wise cracks and sage advice in equal measure.

This isn’t “Anytown”, although it could be. This is my town, a place called Larbert, or to all of us who live here, this is the place we call “home”. It is these actions, these interactions, the relationships and transactions, both economic and social, that bind our community together. This place and its importance in our lives cannot be underestimated; we neglect it at our individual and collective peril. Allow our towns and villages, our cities and their centres to decay and fragment and society itself will pay a heavy price.

The characters in my story are real people, living real lives. This international mix of race, religion, colour, creed and orientation is representative of any town in Scotland. The individuals who live, work and play here are as varied and interesting as the place itself, living out their own life stories, day by day, scene by scene.

In this small country of ours, with its rich, colourful and proud heritage, we are only beginning to appreciate the role and function of place and how we interact with it, and more importantly, how it interacts with us.

For far too long, we Scots have allowed our towns to become homogenous clones, with their core and character being slowly but surely sucked out. Our villages are under threat from a creeping centralisation, as our cities, the big engines of our economy, inevitably strengthen their centripetal pull, creating and then building upon critical economic mass.

If we stand back and do nothing, these trends will continue unabated to the detriment of all. Villages will become lifeless dormitories devoid of any soul, towns will be left to a spiral of decline and decay and our cities will lose the variety in their hinterland which contributes so much to their attractiveness as places to invest.

We must recognise the importance of place. It shapes us as we develop from child to awkward teenager. Place determines where we set up our own home, where we decide to bring up our family. It is the characteristics of a place that determine our life chances, whether the school we attend lifts us up, or lets us down. The community in which we grow up conditions much of our behaviour, our choice of who we are. It is the place in which we live that shapes who we become.

As we rush around in our daily lives, how many of us stop to think about the context in which we live? Do you spare a thought for the vitality of small businesses, and their place in your local economy? Who among us makes a positive daily choice to support our local corner shops, either on the way to work, on the way home, or even when buying the Sunday papers and rolls? Is the vitality of the town centre of interest or should we simply allow market forces to do their worst?

These questions, and many more, will be addressed at the annual Scotland’s Towns Conference, on 16 November, in Dunfermline, a town which helps to define the character of this country. The conference will be showcasing the excellent work that a wide range of individuals, businesses and organisations are doing to not only breathe new life back into our town centres, but also to demonstrate how valued they really are. Locally-led groups, such as Business Improvement Districts, are making a real difference, re-energising these beating hearts of our economy. They are successfully arresting years of decline and seeking to fend off any further decay.

Town centres and local high streets are the places where people meet, where we transact a wide range of business (economic, social, cultural and more) and, crucially, where many of us feel at home. They root us not only in the past but in the present too. If nurtured, our towns, villages, local high streets and yes our city centres too, will represent who we are, and who we can be. If not, they will simply show us who we once were.

As we begin to appreciate the importance of place in our own story, past, present and future, let’s consider the words of Anthony Hopkins’ fine characterisation of John Quincy Adams in the movie Amistad. When pleading the case of African slaves transported to an alien place, this former American president tackles his own demons when finally realising the importance of place in developing character: “We understand now…that who we are, IS who we were.”

It is time we in Scotland understood the importance of place, and how it shapes who we are, and who we can be.

16/11/11

In the face of a stagnating economy and predictions that poverty will rise in the next four years, those fighting poverty in Scotland will face many challenges over the next few years. Yet despite the fact that large cuts are being made to public spending, the UK remains a wealthy society – highlighted by recent figures on the 49% increase in pay for FTSE 100 directors.

It is in this context that the Poverty Alliance will be organising the 3rd Scottish Assembly for Tackling Poverty. The Assembly will take place in Glasgow on the 15th and 16th March 2012 and will be a chance to challenge our current ways of working. It will be an opportunity to look at look at real alternatives; from the economic model to community driven alternatives that are delivering justice for those on the sharp end of a broken system.

We are seeking successful community led projects that are demonstrating effective alternatives that tackle poverty. We are looking for community based initiatives that are addressing aspects of:

• Child poverty (for example child care initiatives or extra curricular activities)
• Fuel poverty (for example through ownership of renewable energy)
• Welfare reform (for example welfare rights advice initiatives)
• Alternative economic models (for example co-operatives or mutuals)
• Sustainable communities (for example projects that address poverty and the environment and the empowerment of disadvantaged communities)

The Assembly will be a real opportunity to exchange your experience, to present evidence on what has worked, and to make demands for change. If you are part of an initiative or know of one that is addressing one of the themes above we would like to hear from you. We will be creating a number of different types of opportunities at the Assembly for exchange and discussion. If you are interested in being involved next year please fill in this form and send it back to us. We will then be in touch to discuss how best you can be involved.

The Poverty Alliance
162 Buchanan Street
Glasgow, G1 2LL

E: admin@povertyalliance.org