Glasgow Housing Association’s bill for hot drinks for the 440 staff and visitors at Granite House is thought to have amounted to up to £70,000 over almost three years, through the renting of six Kenco drinks machines which vend coffee, tea, and hot chocolate through individual cartridges.
It is understood the costs came to light after a procurement manager examined GHA accounts to find ways of saving money.
GHA, which gets nearly 30% of its £250m income from Scottish Government grants, is now considering getting rid of the machines.
Iain McInnes, secretary of the Scottish Tenants Association said: “I would have to question what kind of coffee costs that amount of money. It must be pretty amazing stuff.
“We have to be reasonable here. Nobody’s saying staff cannot have coffee. But it should not be at our expense. That is some amount of money at a time when tenants are looking for improved services.”
It is understood a plan to have the machines scrapped will go before the GHA board this Friday.
GHA said the machines were installed a few years ago “to help provide visitors with refreshments”.
A GHA spokeswoman said: “A proposal to remove the machines is under consideration as part of our commitment to provide better value for money in all areas of our business. This proposal would also meet our drive to become more environmentally friendly.
“If the proposal goes ahead, instant coffee and tea bags would continue to be provided in the kitchens at Granite House for staff and visitors. This would be both more cost-effective and more environmentally friendly.”
An average of 740 visitors attend meetings at Granite House each month, and 340 to its factoring arm GHA(M).
The revelation comes as GHA, which manages more than 60,000 former council houses, looks to shed several hundred managerial posts in the most radical shake-up of the organisation since it was set up almost seven years ago.
It is part of an organisational review aimed at reducing the number of management posts at the agency’s city centre headquarters, and the redirection of staff into frontline services.
It is understood some areas within GHA have been instructed to reduce overall costs by 10% this year and the GHA and the trade unions believe the targets, discussed at a board meetings, can be met by voluntary redundancies and early retirements.
Last summer, Taroub Zahran, the association’s fourth chief executive since 2003, stepped down two months after a damning report from watchdogs. Fred Shedden, vice-chair of the GHA, also resigned.
The Scottish Housing Regulator found GHA had “not set a clear purpose and direction”.
When GHA was set up, it was meant to take temporary charge of homes until smaller housing associations were set up. But those “second stage transfers” have taken place in only a handful of areas.
A new chief executive, Martin Armstrong, was appointed last December.
Under new stewardship, the landlord has accelerated its plans, with an agreement earlier this month signalling votes on SST across 29 Glasgow communities in 2010-2011.
