Under Class 1 we publish information about us, how to find and contact us, our management and external relations.
Background
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) requires that all housing associations/co-operatives in Scotland must produce and maintain a publication scheme. This must detail all of the key information that we publish and how you can access it. This Guide to Information is our publication scheme, and contains links to where you can find all of the information listed online.
We have adopted the Scottish Information Commissioner’s (SIC) Model Publication Scheme (MPS), and this Guide has been approved by the SIC.
Scope of the Order
We comply with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). In order to determine whether or not information is subject to FOISA it needs to be assessed as being covered by the scope of the order. Details of the scope can be found here.
Freedom of Information requests will be assessed to determine if the information covers one or more of the following functions –
1. Prevention & alleviation of homelessness
The Scottish Social Housing Charter identifies the Local Council (LCA) with the statutory duty for alleviation of homelessness (outcome 12). We currently publish information relating to Section 5 homeless referrals from LCAs as part of our Annual Return of the Charter (ARC) . Our responsibility for prevention is limited to provision of advice under charter outcome 7-9.
2. Management of social housing accommodation
FOISA rights apply to information held by an organisation in relation to the functions covered by the Order i.e. provision of Scottish Secure Tenancies (SSTs)
3. Provision & management of sites for gypsy travellers
The Scottish Social Housing Charter identifies the Local Council (LCA) with the statutory duty for managing gypsy traveller sites (outcome 16). We do not manage any gypsy traveller sites therefore FOISA does not apply.
4. Supplies financial/governance information to SHR
Formats other than online
All of the information listed is available on our website (unless stated), and completely free to access online. However, we understand that not everyone will have online access and where this is the case you can contact us to view this in our office (where this would be convenient).
If you would like a printed copy of any of the information listed we can send this in a print format.
If you would like to request information that we publish in a format other than online, or arrange a visit to our office to view information, please contact:
Business Support Team
1 Hay Avenue
Edinburgh
EH16 4RW
Email: foisa@placesforpeople.co.uk
Tel: 0131 657 0600
Information that we cannot publish
Whilst we will try to make all of the information we have detailed available, in rare cases there may be some information that we cannot make available. For example, sometimes if we were to publish certain Board minutes, it could reveal personal details about an individual. This would be a breach of Data Protection legislation if we were to do so. When this is the case, we will remove any personal details before publication and highlight where and why we have done so.
For how long will information be published?
We aim, where possible, to publish information for at least the current and previous two financial years. When we review any document – e.g. our policies – to avoid confusion we will only publish the current version once it has been updated.
Copyright and re-use
Where we hold the copyright on our published information, the information may be copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that:
- It is copied accurately
- It is not used in a misleading context
- The source of the material is identified
Class 1 - About the authority
Class 2 - How we deliver our functions & services
Under Class 2 we publish information about our work, our strategy and policies for delivering functions, services and information for our service users.
Policies
*Currently under review
Mutual Exchange - (Available on request, please contact: foisa@placesforpeople.co.uk)
Class 3 - How we take decisions and what we have decided
Under Class 3 we publish information about how we take decisions and what we have decided.
Class 4 - What we spend and how we spend it
Under Class 4 we publish information about our strategy for, and management of, financial resources to explain how we plan to spend public money and what has actually been spent.
Class 5 - How we manage our human, physical and information resources
Under Class 5 we publish how we manage our human, physical and information resources.
Human Resources
We are members of the following professional organisations/trade bodies:
Chartered Institute of Housing
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
National House Building Council
Chartered Management Institute
Physical Resources
We own over 6,000 homes and work with over 8,000 customers across 10 local authority areas. This makes us one of Scotland's leading large housing associations.
Development plans can be found in the local authority planning section:
Information resources
Class 6 - How we procure goods and services from external providers
Under Class 6 we publish information about how we procure goods and services from external providers.
Goods, Works or Services over the OJEU Thresholds
Contracts that have been issued and/or awarded
If you have an interest in working as a supplier we would recommend that you register on these free to join online portals so you are notified of all opportunities, and have access to all tender documentation and requirements. All documents are freely available within the public domain at the point of the contract notice being published
When a tender exercise has been completed under OJEU, we will publish a Contract Award Notice, detailing a number of key items including its decision criteria, the name(s) of selected supplier(s), details of contract length etc. They will not publish details of pricing or any commercially sensitive information
Class 7 - How we are performing
Under Class 7 we publish information about how we are performing.
Class 8 - Our commercial publications
We do not hold or publish information under this class.
Class 9 - Our open data
We do not hold or publish information under this class.