SCOTTISH Borders Council is being urged to approve changes to the governance arrangements of the region’s largest social landlord.

The local authority is being asked to waive the longstanding requirement for a set level of council and tenant representation on the board of management of the Scottish Borders Housing Association (SBHA).

That organisation, with 5,600 rented properties and annual income of around £22m, says it wants a more streamlined “skill-based” system of governance which will “demonstrate enhanced customer focus”.

When, in 2003, SBC agreed to transfer nearly 7,000 homes to SBHA – a number since diminished by right to buy – it was the largest housing stock transfer in Scotland.

The association’s first 18-strong board of management comprised five tenant representatives, five independent members, five SBC councillors and three co-optees.

In 2014, SBHA reduced the size of its board to 15 with SBC approving a reduction in its representation to three.

Under the transfer agreement, SBHA is not permitted to “reduce the level of local authority or tenant representation or the ability of tenants to participate in the running of the association…without the council’s prior written consent”.

The association is now seeking that consent to cut the membership of its board to a maximum of 13 and remove minimum quotas for tenants and councillors.

Councillor Simon Mountford (Con), one of the three SBC representatives and current chairman of the SBHA board of management, told us: “Compulsory council representation on the board of a £22m business which must be versatile and responsive to new opportunities and challenges has become an anachronism.

“It is also a requirement not imposed on any of the other registered social landlords [Berwickshire, Waverley and Eildon] in the Borders.

"I can give a categorical assurance that tenants will still be represented on the board – there may even be more than the current limit of five – and their role will be further enhanced through the establishment of a new Customer Board which will liaise directly with the independent Scottish Borders Tenants Organisation (SBTO].

“Since 2011, the council and SBHA have a strong track record of working together to increase affordable housing supply, promote sustained tenancies and enhance our local communities and this concordat will remain in place.

"It is an effective partnership which significantly reduces the need for local authority membership on the board.”

Michael Grieve, a tenant who chaired an SBHA working group reviewing governance arrangements, has also commended the proposal.

“We have already consulted with tenant representatives of the SBTO about building a new structure which strengthens and future-proofs our organisation,” said Mr Grieve.

“Over the years we have succeeded in attracting board members from a range of backgrounds, bringing with them a variety of experiences and skills and these proposals seek to build on this strong base.”

If the council approves the changes at its meeting next Thursday, SBHA says a “full tenant consultation” will take place, with the association’s shareholding members having a final vote at a special general meeting this summer.

However, regardless of next week’s decision, local SNP MSP Christine Grahame says she intends raising the issue with Scottish housing minister Kevin Stewart.

“I have a number of concerns,” said Ms Grahame, “not least that abolishing guaranteed places for councillors and tenants will reduce the democratic accountability of this key provider of social housing.

"I am worried too that under the proposed new set-up, tenants may only have a consultative role in governance which I consider a retrograde step.”