Tighter Covid 19 restrictions announced by Scotland’s First Minister

As you will probably be aware, the Scottish Government has announced that Tier 4 restrictions will apply to all areas across mainland Scotland from Boxing Day for a period of 3 weeks to reduce the spread and impact of the Coronavirus.  Key points to note from the First Minister’s announcement on the 19th December 2020 are:

• relaxation for Christmas will now only be allowed for Christmas Day itself;
• the mixing of households on Christmas Day is not being encouraged, if possible;
• travel to other parts of the UK from Scotland is no longer permitted, even over Christmas; and,
• there will be an impact on the opening of schools after the holidays from the 5th January 2021.

While this is very disappointing for everyone, this is to help everyone stay safe and we urge you all to continue to play your part in keeping yourselves, your family and community safe by complying with the rules and guidelines in place remembering to follow the – FACTS (Cover your Face, Avoid crowded places, Clean your hands regularly, Keep two meters distance, Self-isolate and book a test if you have symptoms).

Changes to SBHA’s service-delivery to Tenants

Moving into Tier 4 means, unfortunately some services we deliver to Tenants will once again be restricted to comply with stricter rules with the delivery of essential SBHA services only which include:

• Repairs service – Emergency repairs only until at least the 15^th January 2021.  We have already started to contact all Tenants who have non-emergency repair appointments or planned work appointments up to and including 15^th January  to advise them that these will now be on hold until such time as further announcements are received from the Scottish Government
• Planned maintenance –planned works will also be put on hold, with exception of health and safety inspections and works in compliance with national guidelines.
• New Build and external works – As permitted under Tier 4, construction on our new build sites will continue as planned and external works will continue as planned with relevant safety measures in place e.g. ground maintenance, external repairs, external painting and some external adaptations such as ramps etc.
• Lettings and other tenancy management services –will continue as planned from 5^th January albeit with additional safety measures remaining in place.
• Offices – These will remain closed to the public and working from home will continue to be the default position, however, we plan to continue with a small skeleton team working from Head Office in the existing “bubble” arrangements where working from home has not been practicable.
• Welfare contact – We will strengthen our standby arrangements from Christmas Eve until 5^th January to provide support for Tenant welfare contact if and when required, in addition to the technical support offered during the festive period.

We will keep our arrangements under review as national guidance emerges and update you of any changes as these occur.  We are sorry that we have to restrict the services but these are required to comply with the national guidelines, thank you for your continued patience and understanding during these difficult times.

We wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas.