​Housing chief warns housing sector faces challenges maintaining quality services against cuts

Managing financial pressures while continuing to deliver high standards is the biggest challenge facing housing associations in Scotland, the chief executive of a leading social housing provider has warned.

Brian Logan, chief executive of Bield, said the sector’s priority was how to carve out a strategy which enables social housing providers deliver increasing quality but with proportionately fewer resources.

Speaking at the housing associaiton's AGM Logan said: “My priority and that of the senior management team and Board collectively over the coming months will be to ensure we have a sustainable financial plan which allows us to do all the good things we want to do but keep us viable in the long-term.

“That means being serious about making the best use of existing limited resources, reviewing our processes and harnessing the investments we’ve made to help us reduce our costs.

Logan said he met regularly with other housing associations and they are all facing similar issues.

However, he added that there are a number of measures being planned that will create positive, exciting changes for people who use Bield services.

These include developing a handyperson service, providing repairs by appointment, building more new homes, upgrading existing stock, ensuring customer service scores consistently high and expanding the Bield at Home homecare service.

“We’re facing budget pressures like never before. Our income is being squeezed and our costs continue to rise.

“And through all of that, our values of caring for each other remains at the forefront of our everyday actions.”

Bield is one of the country’s largest housing associations providing services for around 20,000 older people across 23 local authority areas.