Orkney Housing Association has become the only housing association in Scotland to hold accreditation in the Scottish National Standards for Housing Information and Advice Providers.

The award is evidence that the Association's services meet the requirements of the Scottish National Standards. The accreditation audit was carried out in March this year and focused on the quality of advice given and the policies and procedures used by staff members.

The auditors praised the high quality advice given by staff and their appropriate use of referral to other agencies. The strong commitment to staff training and development was also highlighted with auditors commenting that this underpinned the quality of their services.

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Staff were also commended for their approach to preparing for the audit with extensive paperwork prepared and made readily available to the auditors.

Sally Inkster, Orkney's Chief Executive, said: "It is an excellent achievement by the staff concerned and illustrates just how well the housing providers in Orkney work together to provide quality services. We are grateful for the funding and support provided by the Orkney Islands Council during the accreditation process."

The accreditation comes at the same time as the other local housing providers, Orkney Islands Council and Orkney Property Development Limited.

Judi Reid from HomePoint, Scottish Government, said: "It is a tremendous achievement for these three agencies to be accredited. The Government has been impressed with the sheer hard work dedicated to improving the quality of housing information and advice within these organisations.

"This process has been unique in the way that each organisation has shared good practice and supported each other to comply with the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers. The dedication of the staff involved has been inspiring. People seeking housing information and advice in Orkney can be assured that they will receive an excellent service. The ultimate benefit is of course to the client. We know that good quality information and advice can, in many cases, prevent a person or persons becoming homeless."

(GK/JM)