Communities Scotland was the Scottish Government's housing regeneration agency. From 1st April 2008 its regulation and inspection duties have transferred to the Scottish Housing Regulator.

Regulation and inspection body

The work of regulation and inspection is crucial for achieving the Homelessness Task Force vision of bringing about positive culture change in the delivery of housing and homelessness services. It was initially carried out by Communities Scotland and is currently carried out by the Scottish Housing Regulator.

Communities Scotland

The agency had three main roles:

• to intervene in the housing market through funding for social housing
• to invest in disadvantaged communities through regeneration funding
• to be a catalyst for improved housing and homelessness services.

The third objective was achieved through Communities Scotland's regulation and inspection function. This responsibility has now been transferred to The Scottish Housing Regulator (the two other functions have been transferred to the Scottish Government's Housing and Regeneration directorate).

The Scottish Housing Regulator

The Scottish Housing Regulator's purpose is to protect the interests of current and future tenants, and other consumers of the housing and homelessness services provided by registered social landlords and local authorities. By regulating effectively it should help to ensure decent homes, good services, value for money and confident investors.

About the inspections

Regulation and Inspection has inspected service provision by a number of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and local authorities. Inspections provide an in-depth assessment of an organisation, its service quality and its ability to improve. Inspections test how well an organisation is meeting performance standards. These inspection reports include grades for each service area reviewed in the audit, as well as improvement plans. The reports also give information on the key areas of strength and weakness in service delivery.

Councils inspected

Since 2003 the following councils have been inspected:

• Aberdeen City Council
• Angus Council
• City of Edinburgh Council
• Clackmannanshire Council
• Dumfries & Galloway Council
• East Ayrshire Council
• East Dunbartonshire Council
• East Lothian Council
• East Renfrewshire Council
• Falkirk Council
• The Highland Council
• Inverclyde Council
• North Lanarkshire Council
• Orkney Islands Council
• Perth and Kinross Council
• Scottish Borders Council
• Shetland Islands Council
• South Ayrshire Council
• Stirling Council
• West Dunbartonshire Council
• West Lothian Council

You can see copies of the inspection reports in full and summary format on the Scottish Housing Regulator's website.