Aggregation of complaints by Housing Associations to Scottish Housing Regulator: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could the Scottish Government please confirm or deny that this 'aggregation' of complaints (as set out above) 'is a requirement of the Scottish Government on the Scottish Housing Regulator to report ASB in this way' as is now claimed by (Redacted) housing association and their specialist FOISA legal team?

2. Could the Scottish Government please confirm that a housing association (public authority) reporting ASB complaints in this way ('aggregated' as set out above) is indeed solely 'an individual decision' of (redacted) Housing Association' (public authority)?

3. Could the Scottish Government please provide me with or direct me to where specifically any section of legislation might be found with regards to the 'aggregation' of complaints (Russian doll like) where 5, 10 or 100 complaints received by a public authority over over a period of 4 weeks, can be reported by a housing association (public authority) to the Scottish Housing Regulator as 1 complaint, this 'aggregated' data to thereafter be published for the public record,interested parties, the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and investors ?

4. Could the Scottish Government please set out the main reason as to the paramount importance of the 'accuracy' of reporting such data sets, by a housing association to its regulatory body and thereafter to be published, which I presume is fundamentally essential in order for the Scottish Government to tackle ASB by amending or bring forward new legislation that accurately reflects any trends or prevailances in ASB, gleaned by the study of the afore mentioned 'accurate' data sets?

Response

The Scottish Government does not have the information you asked for as it's within the remit of the Scottish Housing Regulator.

It might be helpful if I explain that the Scottish Social Housing Charter sets the outcomes and standards that all social landlords are required to meet Scottish Social Housing Charter November 2022 - gov.scot . The Charter was introduced as part of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 along with an independent regulator for social housing, the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR). Under the 2010 Act, the Scottish Housing Regulator is responsible for monitoring, assessing and reporting on how well social landlords, individually and collectively, achieve the Charter's outcomes. This includes meeting the outcomes on communication and estate management, anti-social behaviour, neighbour nuisance and tenancy disputes. Social landlords report annually to the SHR as part of their Annual Return on the Charter. More information is available in their Regulatory Framework Regulatory Framework | Scottish Housing Regulator

Most of the information you have requested is therefore available from the Scottish Housing Regulator website by searching for Annual Return on the Charter - Home | Scottish Housing Regulator Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

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The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.