The Scottish Housing News Podcast

“If we don't grab and grab with both hands that prevention agenda, do more now, given we know what's coming our way from our demographics, then we are going to be in a much worse state than we are now in 10, 20 years time.” Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black continue their exploration of the current issues surrounding social care and accessible housing with Angela Currie, the chief executive of Hanover Scotland. Angela talks about the difficulty in forging the cross-sector relationships required to deliver the level of service and quality of homes to its older residents, particularly with regard to procurement and strategic partnerships. We look ahead to the results of the Scottish Housing Accessibility Standard consultation and look back on the legacy of the late Julia Fitzpatrick. Hanover has recently come on board as a sponsor for the event, which will take place at the V&A Dundee on September 26th. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/accessible-housing-part-2-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-ijbs-and-the-sword-of-damocles Further reading: The first part of our Accessible Housing series is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/podcast-accessible-housing-part-1-with-pam-duncan-glancy-msp Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“You can't do all of the things that people take for granted if you can't get in and out of your house.” In the run-up to the Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit in Dundee, Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay discuss the practical housing issues often confronted by people with disabilities with the campaigning MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy. Pam, who represents a Glasgow regional seat and is deputy convener of the Cross Party Parliamentary Group on Disability, will chair a session at the event in September. The discussion touches on her role in a public consultation on accessible housing, which fed into a wider commission on housing, and the following conclusions of that report. They also speak about the wider benefits of people being able to live independently and how important it is that people with accessibility requirements are involved in these discussions. A transcript of this episode is available here. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here. Tickets for the Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit are available here. Further reading: Euan's Guide Christie Commission on the future delivery of public services Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“We have a theory of change which demonstrates the changes we are hoping to see in people's lives that will ultimately help us achieve our vision of a world where everyone has an equal chance to create a safe and supportive place to call home.” Returning to the subject of homelessness, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black speak to two charities that between them have been operating in Scotland for almost 350 years. Helen Murdoch and Janet Haugh provide brief histories of their respective charities, The Salvation Army and Right There, before turning the focus to current challenges. We then discuss The Salvation Army’s Breaking the Cycle report, which recommends urgent collection of data on the number of people rough sleeping, along with cause-of-death data for anyone who dies while living in temporary accommodation, as well as the Right There Impact Report, which measured the saving to the public purse as a result of the support that it provides to people facing or experiencing homelessness. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/the-holistic-approach-to-homelessness-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-space-time-empathy-and-practical-stuff-saves-cash Further reading: The Difference That Right There Makes: Social Return on Investment Approach Impact Evaluation Breaking the Cycle: Understanding the challenges in accessing wrap-around support for people experiencing homelessness in Scotland Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“In crisis situations, don't try and save face in front of us. Tell us the warts and all. Tell us the reality of the situation here. If we're going in with one hand tied behind our back, then it isn't going to end well.” In this episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black discuss the value of effective communications in the social housing sector with Sally Thomas, the chief executive at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, and Chris Fairbairn, an associate director at public relations consultancy Holyrood PR. Social landlords have great stories to tell and its important to raise the reputation of your association and your work. But what about when things aren’t going so well? The increased expectations of social landlords today bring ever-heightened scrutiny, and couple that with a cost of living crisis and a housing emergency then communicating the right message to the right people is crucial. Listen to the guests share their insights on managing expectations against budget pressures, how landlords can recover their reputation amid a housing emergency and whether the ‘black arts’ are still practised by today’s PR companies. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/communications-during-a-crisis-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany this episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-if-you-put-peoples-backs-up-they-go-to-the-papers Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay conclude their series on the Scottish Government’s new Housing Bill with an interview with the minister responsible for bringing the legislation through Parliament, housing minister Paul McLennan. The wide-ranging discussion centred on measures in the proposed legislation such as rent controls, homelessness and domestic abuse. Mr McLennan also shared details of the first meeting of the Housing Investment Taskforce, which he described as one of many avenues the Scottish Government is looking to boost housebuilding. The minister also said he intends to share details on an action plan to tackle Scotland's housing emergency over the next few days after a Housing to 2040 strategy group meeting took place last week. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-bill-part-4-paul-mclennan-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany this episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-half-an-hour-with-the-housing-minister Catch up with the rest of the Housing Bill series here: Podcast: Housing Bill part 1: Rent controls and tenants’ rights with Dr John Boyle: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/podcast-housing-bill-part-1-rent-controls-and-tenants-rights-with-dr-john-boyle Podcast: Housing Bill part 2: Homelessness prevention duties with Ewan Aitken: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/podcast-housing-bill-part-2-homelessness-prevention-duties-with-ewan-aitken Podcast: Housing Bill part 3: Domestic abuse with Michelle Meldrum, Eileen McMullan and Sophie Berry: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/podcast-the-housing-bill-part-3-domestic-abuse-with-michelle-meldrum-eileen-mcmullan-and-sophie-berry For more information on SHN’s Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit in partnership with Horizon Housing, click here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/horizon-announces-summit-to-develop-solutions-for-accessible-housing-and-social-care-crisis Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black continue their look into the new Housing Bill with a look at the duties expected of social landlords regarding domestic abuse. Under the proposed legislation, social landlords will have to provide support to tenants experiencing rent arrears or risk of homelessness due to domestic abuse, and to publish a policy on how it will exercise these functions. To help explore what a domestic abuse policy could entail, and the key role that social landlords could have in tackling the issue, the panel included Michelle Meldrum, the chief executive at Berwickshire Housing Association, Eileen McMullan, policy lead at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, and returning to the podcast was Sophie Berry, a solicitor at Govan Law Centre. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/the-housing-bill-part-3-domestic-abuse-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-violence-in-the-home Further reading: CIH Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid ‘Policies Not Promises’ report: https://www.cih.org/media/znmnr0u2/policies-not-promises.pdf CIH Scotland domestic abuse knowledge hub: https://www.cih.org/knowledge-hub/tenancy-and-support/domestic-abuse Social landlords good practice guide: https://www.cih.org/media/krhfduto/guidance-for-social-landlords-domestic-abuse-cv19.pdf SafeLives knowledge hub: https://safelives.org.uk/knowledge-hub Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black put the Holyrood turmoil to one side and continue their exploration of various elements of the Scottish Government’s new Housing Bill with a look at proposed new homelessness prevention measures. The legislation will introduce an ‘ask and act’ duty on social landlords and other bodies, such as health boards and the police, to ask about a person’s housing situation and take proactive steps to avoid them becoming homeless wherever possible. But what could these proactive steps involve, do the measures go far enough or are they asking too much of already stretched resources?  Ewan Aitken, the chief executive of homelessness charity Cyrenians, has the answers. Ewan co-chaired the Homelessness Prevention Task and Finish Group, on whose report, arguably, the homelessness elements of the new Housing Bill are based. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-bill-part-2-homelessness-prevention-duties-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-homelessness-how-to-ask-act Further reading: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/scottish-government-publishes-new-housing-bill Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

With the long-awaited Housing Bill finally here, hosts Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black will dedicate the next four episodes to digest various elements of the legislation, including homelessness and domestic abuse, culminating in an interview with housing minister Paul McLennan. But we begin the series with a discussion on increased rights for private tenants and, arguably the most contentious proposal, rent controls. In previous episodes, we’ve heard tenants' union Living Rent say rent controls are absolutely vital to keep rents affordable and prevent people being priced out from living in Scotland’s cities. We’ve also spoken to landlords who argue that the measures will see reduced investment and more landlords leaving the sector, leading to higher costs for tenants. To debate the merits of the Housing Bill and its impact on the private rented sector, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black speak to Dr John Boyle, the Director of Research & Strategy at Rettie. Professor Douglas Robertson also contributed to this episode, but we had audio issues and so we can’t use the recording. However, you can find Douglas’ spirited contribution in the transcript. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-bill-part-1-rent-controls-and-tenants-rights-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-rent-controls-mean-well-but-do-they-work Further reading: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/scottish-government-publishes-new-housing-bill https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/holyrood-committees-launch-joint-consultation-on-new-housing-bill Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

"Technically heat networks aren't really difficult. It is just large-scale plumbing. The heat's already there, we're just moving it.” With the Scottish Government’s New Build Heat Standard now in force, the installation of ‘direct emission’ systems for heating for new build homes and other buildings is now banned in Scotland. Effectively, this means any new build applying for a building warrant will not be able to use polluting heating systems like oil and gas boilers and instead be powered by alternatives like heat pumps and heat networks. But, how do these clean heating systems operate? And is the industry prepared to meet the huge demand for skills that is coming its way? Eoghan Maguire is director of heat networks – Scotland at Vattenfall Heat UK, a company that has formed a joint venture with Midlothian Council to deliver low-carbon heating to thousands of homes, education and retail properties at the new town of Shawfair. Eoghan describes the challenges and benefits of incorporating the large-scale project, which he believes can be a catalyst for other heat networks across Scotland. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/shawfair-and-clean-heating-networks-with-eoghan-maguire-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-shawfair-can-be-a-catalyst-for-large-scale-clean-heating Further reading: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/midlothian-council-and-vattenfall-form-joint-venture-to-deliver-low-carbon-heat-to-homes https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/first-pipes-installed-at-shawfair-lowcarbon-heating-project Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“If we have a choice between a tenant having their home flooded or having to put on an extra jumper, which would you recommend?” For anyone who has encountered architect Fionn Stevenson over her career, her answer to this question will be obvious. It forms part of her claim that a blanket one-size-fits-all fabric-first approach to retrofitting should make way for a considered make do and mend tactic, which considers and effectively measures the embodied carbon costs of building upgrades. According to Fionn, there is plenty low-hanging fruit such as roof and cavity wall insulation still available for housing providers without having to tackle the “expensive faff” of additional external wall insulation. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/why-fabric-first-may-be-the-wrong-approach-for-retrofitting-podcast-transcript Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-make-do-and-mend Further reading: Housing Fit For Purpose: Performance, Feedback and Learning - https://www.routledge.com/Housing-Fit-For-Purpose-Performance-Feedback-and-Learning/Stevenson/p/book/9781859468241 LETI Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide - https://www.leti.uk/retrofit Fionn's LinkedIn post - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fionn-stevenson-a3868720_retrofit-thinksmart-everypropertyisdifferent-activity-7149370404007006208-R9bo/ Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Almost a year since Scotland appointed its first dedicated housing minister, three councils have declared housing emergencies due to mounting pressures in their local housing systems and dozens of others could be set to follow. Now housing bodies across Scotland are making a concerted effort to say that it's not just individual regions that are struggling but that the entire country is in the midst of an emergency. But what is a housing emergency and why is a declaration important? Joining Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to discuss their respective situations and whether they think the Scottish Government is taking any notice are Councillor Jane Meagher, the City of Edinburgh Council's housing convener, and Councillor Allan Casey, the city convener for workforce homelessness and addiction services at Glasgow City Council. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-my-thoughts-on-housing-emergencies A transcription of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/why-it-is-important-to-declare-a-housing-emergency-podcast-transcript Further reading: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/council-declares-housing-emergency-in-argyll-and-bute https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/partners-pledge-to-tackle-argyll-and-bute-housing-emergency https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/edinburgh-confirms-housing-emergency-declaration https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-emergency-declared-in-glasgow https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/fife-council-on-brink-of-housing-emergency-declaration-amid-record-homelessness https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/edinburgh-agrees-action-plan-to-help-address-housing-emergency https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/cih-scotland-to-declare-a-scottish-housing-emergency-at-national-conference Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

With the Tenant Protection Bill’s in-tenancy rent cap and eviction measures due to expire in a matter of weeks, the Scottish Government has proposed an adjudication scheme to ease the transition until a long-awaited Housing Bill comes to pass. Under the proposals, the process for rent adjudication will temporarily be modified from April 1st for one year. Any tenant who wishes to dispute a rent increase notice can apply to Rent Service Scotland or the First-tier Tribunal which will set a fair rent based on a taper formula set out in the new regulations. But with just weeks before its implementation, it seems neither tenants nor landlords are happy with this new arrangement. Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay speak to Calum Sanderson, a member of the tenants’ union Living Rent, and Susan Aktemel, who founded the UK’s first social enterprise letting agency Homes for Good, to find out if there’s another way. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-prs-uncertainty-benefits-no-one Further reading: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/transitional-measures-proposed-as-private-rent-cap-ends Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Fresh from being recognised by CIH Scotland with a Lifetime Achievement award for having gone the extra mile during his career, Grampian Housing Association chief executive Craig Stirrat joins Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to talk about his 40 years in housing so far and the current challenges facing the housing sector. Hear Craig's views on housing as a career, the cost-of-living crisis, Grampian Housing Association's future development plans and much more. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-talking-stock-transfers-reidvale-and-more-with-craig-stirrat Further reading: You can catch up with all the news on Grampian Housing Association here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/tag/grampian-housing-association  Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

With Reidvale Housing Association currently considering its options after shareholders voted against a proposed transfer of engagements to Place for People Scotland, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black reflect on some of the issues that have been raised so far.  They spoke to Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney, who was a prominent part of the campaign against the transfer and raised concerns about the process with the Scottish Parliament’s housing committee. Paul shares those concerns, laments the loss of community-controlled housing associations more widely and sets out measures that he believes could protect them in the future. Another issue raised by the shareholders’ vote is that the majority of Reidvale tenants who took part in the ballot will not now see the transfer they voted for.  This is a concern shared by tenant participation and engagement specialist Lesley Baird, a former chief executive of TPAS Scotland who is concerned about a loss of voice for tenants. Lesley also talks through the process of providing tenant advice during stock transfers and stresses the importance of having independent advisors, both to tenants and members. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-issues-from-the-reidvale-transfer-saga Further reading: You can catch up with all the news on Reidvale Housing Association here - https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/tag/reidvale-housing-association Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black step outside the Scottish social housing bubble to consider the impact of housing design in the aftermath of a disaster. Earlier this year, architect and University of Dundee lecturer Laurence Wood took a group of Year 5 Architecture students to Turkey, which had just suffered from a terrible earthquake, to live in rural camps and experience the challenges of displaced people.  Drawing on his experience of developing transitional housing in the Philippines and rebuilding New Orleans and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina, Laurance has been slowly developing research that brings local people and local materials to the forefront of post-disaster reconstruction. As Scotland grapples with its own housing challenges, are there lessons to be learned about this expeditious approach? This episode was recorded in Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce’s podcast studio on Dundee’s waterfront. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-can-post-disaster-reconstruction-inform-scotlands-own-housing-emergency Further reading: They Live in the Dark’: Older people’s isolation and inadequate access to housing amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur50/7385/2023/en/ To get in touch with Laurence, email l.y.wood@dundee.ac.uk. Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Kieran Findlay is joined by Steve Malone and Johnny Cadell, both principal architects at Architecture & Design Scotland, and Grant Baxter, the planning & building standards team leader at Clackmannanshire Council, to tell the story of a town centre development at Primrose Street in Alloa. Together they share their experiences of working to support the multi-generational housing project, explore the collaborative policy, design, community engagement and procurement processes involved in the journey and reveal how the project became a catalyst for regeneration not just in the town centre, but in nearby Alva and across Clackmannanshire. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-placemakers-of-the-world-unite Further reading: Town Centre Living Report - https://www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/publications/documents/town-centre-living-report The original case study on the Place Standard work in Alloa - https://www.ads.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-05/case-study-place-standard-alloa-2020.pdf Article on the Norwegian delegation visit in connection with Place Standard use in Alloa - https://www.ads.org.uk/blog/place-standard-tool-norwegian-colleagues-visit-scotland Case study on town centre living work in Alloa - https://www.ads.org.uk/blog/town-centre-living-primrose-street-alloa ADS report on Alva - https://www.ads.org.uk/case-study/alva-pathfinder ADS report on A Caring Place - https://www.ads.org.uk/resource/town-centre-living-ten-principles-caring-place Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

It is difficult to remember a time when global, UK and national events have aligned so acutely to heap even more pressure on Scotland's local housing systems. Committed professional sectors from across the housing, homelessness and refugee sectors gathered at Scotland's Annual Homelessness Conference on October 31st to unlock solutions to these unprecedented challenges. So Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black packed up the recording equipment and headed to Perth Concert Hall for a special episode which captured the themes of the conference. Kieran chats to housing minister Paul McLennan about the Scottish Government's short and long-term plans to reverse the trend of homelessness before Jimmy catches up with Martin Smith, service manager at Perth and Kinross Council, a local authority that has achieved groundbreaking results on homelessness. They reconvene for a roundtable discussion with Maggie Brünjes, Homeless Network Scotland's chief executive and Alan Jones, the housing manager for options and homelessness at Aberdeenshire Council, to share their thoughts on the conference and their asks of the Scottish Government. There will be biscuit chat! Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-homelessness-beating-the-backlog Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Scottish Housing Day took place last month to celebrate careers across housing by showcasing the variety of roles and routes into the sector and making the case for housing to be recognised as an important and valued career. But it also served to raise awareness of the need to replace a largely ageing workforce and  support the next generation of housing professionals to continue to meet the increased standards and challenges of the future. The housing sector employs tens of thousands of professionals, but there is no sector-wide strategy on recruitment, retention or talent development - and there are concerns that young people especially are falling through the cracks. Joining Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black on the latest episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast were Collette Anderson, corporate services & innovation manager at Milnbank Housing Association; Julie‑Ann Cloherty​, learning and development officer at Share, and consultant Nicola Dillon. The conversation touches on the struggle for housing associations to attract young people and how this is having an impact on recruitment. We then highlight the perception of housing and how this can be more accurately reflected before hearing about Share’s Young Housing Professionals Network and the Investors in Young People Framework. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-getting-a-job-in-housing The fair work and meta-skills videos by River Clyde Homes mentioned in the episode are available here:  Meta-skills: https://youtu.be/p7sVwjb0rFU Fair Work: https://youtu.be/jNZA4-vp-gQ Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: ⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠ Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

While financial pressures have undoubtedly played a huge part in a slowdown of new homes being delivered, there is a strong sense among housebuilders that the planning process is also having a detrimental impact. A recent survey published by our sister publication Scottish Construction Now found that the statutory timeframe for the turnaround of planning applications is being routinely breached in Scotland, with readers blaming under-resourced planning departments and the implementation of NPF4 for increasing delays. To find out more, Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay spoke to Janice Russell, the managing director at McTaggart Construction, which delivers hundreds of homes every year for Scotland’s RSLs. Cameron Greig, a senior associate in Morton Fraser's Litigation Department, also joins to provide a detailed look at a specific planning appeal called in by the Scottish Government, which highlights a post-National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) change impacting unallocated sites. Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-fail-to-plan-plan-to-fail Other relevant reading: Scotland's Broken Planning System Scotland’s leading planner responds to SCN’s ‘Scotland’s broken planning system’ series and reveals extent of ‘demographic time-bomb’ facing planning departments Construction Leader: Janice Russell takes the reins at McTaggart Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/ https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

The 2014 Unsuitable Accommodation Order was introduced to effectively end stays in unsuitable accommodation for any homeless person for more than 7 days.  However, with these laws being consistently broken by local authorities for a number fo reasons Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black ask whether the law is fit for purpose. We clarify the legislation around homelessness and to share the practical problems of finding suitable accommodation with Cllr Jane Meagher, the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, and Sophie Berry, a solicitor at Govan Law Centre.  Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-homelessness-presents-some-sobering-facts Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner. Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels: https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/ https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/