Scottish Child Payment bridging payments

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Earlier in the year, the Scottish Government announced additional payments for school aged children.  £160 was paid per child to eligible families on 8th October and a further payment will be made in December for each P1 to S6 pupil who is entitled to Free School Meals due to their parent/guardian being in receipt of low income or a qualifying benefit. The payment can be used by families for any purpose as they see fit.

This payment is in addition to support delivered through the continuation of Free School Meals over the school holidays and the £130 Low Income Pandemic Payment.

Who will receive the payment?

  • Children in P4-S6 who receive Free School Meals will be eligible for the payment.
  • Children in P1-P3 who are eligible due to low income or qualifying benefits only.  Children in P1-P3 who receive universal Free School Meals, and who do not meet the financial qualifying conditions for Free School Meals, are not eligible for these additional payments.
  • Pre-school aged children are not eligible for this additional payment. The Scottish Child Payment is available for children under the age of 6.

Is the payment per family or per child?

  • A payment of £160 will be made for each eligible child in the household.

How will I receive the payment?

  • Payment will be made automatically for all children entitled to receive Free School Meals and meet the criteria detailed above.

When will I receive the payment?

  • Eligible children would have received the October payment on 8th October and the next payment will be in December.

For more information about this payment, please contact our welfare rights officers David and George on 0141 763 0511.

New Rules approved at SGM and Board Members elected at AGM on 21st September

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The Association held a successful Special General Meeting (SGM) followed by an Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 21st September. It was held at the Shettleston Juniors Club to allow for social distancing at a larger venue than the reception area in our office. Thanks to all those that made the effort to come along and take part in both meetings.

At the SGM, Tony Teasdale, CEO, presented proposed changes to the Association’s Rules for members to consider and approve. The Rules were approved by at least 75% of the members present at the meeting. A copy of the new Rules can be viewed by clicking here.

The AGM followed immediately after the SGM, at which James McBride of auditors Azets spoke about the annual accounts – these can be viewed here. The meeting then considered the nominations that had been received to the Board. Lesley Scoffield, Christine Thomson and John Morrison were re-elected and new recruits Brian Barclay, Hugh McIntosh, Edward Robertson and Chloe Park were elected to the Board.

The Office Bearers were elected at the first Board meeting after the AGM, and they are Lesley Scoffield (Chair), Christine Thomson (Vice Chair) and Elizabeth Battersby (Secretary). The new Board can be viewed here.

Joinery apprenticeship opportunity at Upkeep – apply now!

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Our subsidiary, Upkeep, is currently recruiting for a positive and enthusiastic Apprentice Joiner to join their team, based at their Culrain Street office.

The successful candidate will secure a four year trade apprenticeship comprising on site practical training as well as college based theory and practical examinations to provide them with the knowledge and skills to become a qualified Joiner.

The successful candidate will also have excellent prospects to secure permanent employment within the business, upon the successful completion of their training.

No previous experience is necessary but an interest in working in a fast paced trade environment and a keen eye for detail are advantageous.

For an informal chat about the position or to find out more information please contact Neil Ferguson on 0141 7643793 or email your C.V to enquiries@upkeepglasgow.org.uk

The closing date for applications is Friday 3rd September 2021 at 12.00pm.

ice box construction

Icebox Challenge Glasgow

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Shettleston Housing Association are delighted to be one of the sponsors of the Ice Box Challenge Glasgow. This event is being hosted by Glasgow City Council in conjunction with the Passivhaus Trust and will highlight the benefits of energy efficiency in buildings ahead of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference.

The Ice Box Challenge is a contest and practical experiment to demonstrate the thermal efficiency of buildings and how this can be improved through energy efficient design. Architecture students from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen won a competition to design two Ice Boxes, one of which will be built to current Scottish Building Standards and the other to the Passive House Standard. The boxes will be left outside for two weeks, each holding an equal amount of ice. When opened, the amount of ice left in each box will be measured. How much ice remains will demonstrate how well each icebox keeps out the heat. The results of the experiment will help show how energy efficient construction can reduce carbon pollution and ensure buildings are healthier, more comfortable and more economic to run.

The event will run from 23rd July to 6th August in St Enoch’s Square and is open to the public. You can find more information on the official Icebox Challenge Glasgow site: https://iceboxchallenge.org/

Seeking your views about digital communications and housing…

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Glasgow City Council are looking to find out how people access information and engage with digital media when making choices about their housing and have asked SHA to help with this research. If you are a first time buyer, renter or planning to move, perhaps you could take the time to complete the survey and help GCC develop and improve its housing Services and digital communications. The survey  can be found here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/GCC_AccessToHousing/

The survey is also published on Glasgow City Council’s Consultation Hub:

https://www.glasgowconsult.co.uk/KMS/dmart.aspx?strTab=PublicDMartCurrent&NoIP=1

Thanks for your time, your input is greatly appreciated.

Read about our latest service update in our summer newsletter

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With Glasgow now in Level Two restrictions, we have been able to bring back services whilst continuing to work under Government health and safety guidelines. We are operating a full repairs service and have also started our cyclical maintenance programme, including external painter-work, gutter cleaning and common landscaping. We are also making progress with various window, door, kitchen and bathroom replacement and electrical re-wiring contracts that make up much of our planned major repair programme for the year.

Housing and maintenance officers are out and about in the area on a regular basis, carrying out inspections and visiting tenants as required. Our office will remain generally closed to the public for some time longer but we are now able to start to see people in the office on a pre-arranged, appointments only basis.

Read more about our services, updates on various matters, local news and much more in our summer newsletter.

Order or donate healthy meals from The Food Phone

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The Food Phone project in the east end provides healthy affordable meals for collection. You can order healthy meals via text message at ‘pay what you can’ prices (suggested donation of £3). To use the service, all you have to do is text MEALS to 07786 202 247 (standard sms costs apply). If you don’t need a meal for yourself but would like to make a donation to help others, you can do this by texting DONATE to 07786 202 247.

The meals can be collected from two locations in the east end: Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12-3pm from Meals Collective’s kitchen located inside Abercromby Business Centre, G40 2DD. On Saturdays – between 12-3 pm from The Space, 257 London Road, G40 1PE.

For more information about the project, please follow @thefoodphone on Twitter and Facebook.

New affordable homes for Shettleston

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Shettleston Housing Association has completed a striking new development of 46 affordable homes for rent on its Fenella Street site. 

The final 12 homes at the Association’s latest newbuild project have now been handed over.  The development includes 38 one, two and three bedroom flats for social rent, including four wheelchair adapted ground floor properties. Eight mid-market rent flats complete the development and these will be managed by the Association’s subsidiary, East End Housing Development Company.

Set around a central courtyard, the 3 and 4 storey flatted blocks, designed by John Gilbert Architects, reflect the massing of the traditional Glasgow tenement block, with a community space at its heart. These bright and spacious modern homes are extremely energy efficient with high levels of insulation, triple glazing and mechanical ventilation and heat recovery systems. All homes are fitted with vSmart technology, allowing residents to control their heating remotely, and all have access to a communal Wi-Fi system. The common amenity space at the centre of the development includes parking, garden space and a children’s play area that is already well used by residents and is quickly becoming a focal point for the new community.

The project has had a difficult journey to completion with the original contractor unfortunately placed into administration in early 2020, following handover of the first block. The Covid lockdown halted progress again in March 2020 and the development has now been completed in phases by contractor Stewart & Shields.

Lesley Scoffield, Chair of the Association said “We’re delighted to have reached final handover for these fantastic new flats in the heart of Shettleston. It’s a real pleasure to see tenants move in and settle in to their new homes.”

Tony Teasdale, SHA Chief Executive added, “This great looking new development on a prominent, brownfield, site bridging Shettleston Road and Old Shettleston Road, is another important step in the ongoing regeneration of the area.   It has enabled us to provide 46 households with a quality, affordable and secure home at a time when the need for this has never been greater.”

The development at Fenella Street has been supported by grant funding of over £3.3million from Glasgow City Council / Scottish Government with additional loan funding from the Association’s lenders Royal Bank of Scotland.

Closed for the bank holiday

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We are now closed for the bank holiday. Our services will resume on Tuesday 1st June, at 9am. You can still report emergency repairs by calling our out of hours emergency repairs line on 0808 202 6565.