National Housing Conference to consider challenges for housing providers in 2010 and beyond

The Challenges facing Housing Providers in 2010 and beyond will be under discussion at the upcoming 11th National Housing Conference (NHC), to be held at the Doubletree Dunblane Hydro Hotel on Wednesday 24 March, 2010.  For the first time, this conference will be hosted in association with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA).

The Challenges facing Housing Providers in 2010 and beyond will be under discussion at the upcoming 11th National Housing Conference (NHC), to be held at the Doubletree Dunblane Hydro Hotel on Wednesday 24 March, 2010.  For the first time, this conference will be hosted in association with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA).

Housing providers in Scotland currently face a range of challenges in their delivery of value for the public purse whilst increasing the choice and supply of available housing and seeking to build sustainable communities.  The current level of uncertainty across the sector in relation to public and private sources of funding and the forthcoming proposed changes to the regulatory regime under which Scottish housing providers operate will give rise to further challenges for RSLs and Local Authorities.

Expert speakers will discuss the key legal and regulatory issues which housing providers must address, including: credit and finance arrangements; group structures and joint working; development partnerships; public procurement; the modernised regulatory regime; and the evolution of housing policy in Scotland.

Speakers include Alex Neil MSP, Minister for Housing and Communities; Professor Lorne D Crerar, Harper Macleod LLP and author of the Crerar Review; Andrew Field, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Kennedy Foster, Council of Mortgage Lenders; Len Freedman and James McMorrow, Harper Macleod LLP.  The full programme and breakout groups will be announced shortly.

Harper Macleod Chairman, Professor Lorne Crerar said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) on next year's NHC, which we believe has become one of the major events in the Scottish housing calendar.  We have seen a record number of delegates attend the NHC over the last few years and I believe that again, this event will have an outstanding group of speakers with the Minster for Communities, Alex Neil MSP, opening the conference with a key note address.

Andrew Field, Deputy Chief Executive of SFHA said "We all know we are moving into a period of public expenditure constraint.  It is more important than ever that we explore different ways of doing things and this conference gives us that opportunity."

The conference fee will remain at £100 + VAT and for more details about this event and booking information, please contact Claire Kissock on 0141 227 9369 / email claire.kissock@harpermacleod.co.uk.

Established in 1988, Harper Macleod has 42 Partners, 126 Fee Earners and a complement of over 250 staff based in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness.  The firm is noted for its expertise in Corporate, Real Estate, Recoveries & Insolvency, Energy and Renewables, Litigation, Sports, Employment and Insurance & Reparation. Clients include The Scottish Government, The Department for Work & Pensions, The Forestry Commission Scotland, Highland & Islands Enterprise, The Scottish Premier League, William Hill, Airtricity, Optical Express and Tulloch Homes.

The SFHA is the voice of principal builders and managers of new affordable housing for rent in Scotland.  Housing Associations own and manage around 40% of the country's affordable rented housing stock, over a quarter of a million homes across Scotland.