Opinion

In light of the recent housing emergency declared by the City of Edinburgh Council, Springfield Group CEO Innes Smith argues that collaborative working between the public and private sectors must result in review, action and crucially, an increase in positive planning decisions, to truly make a

Kevin Reid looks at why supporting communities is more than a choice for The Cruden Group. With the season of goodwill in full swing, it’s a poignant time to reflect on how important it is for businesses to embed social value at the heart of everything they do. This has certainly become a

Gavin Smith, chair of the CIH Scotland Board and service manager at Fife Council, reflects on the Autumn Statement and what it means for the private rented sector. On 22 November the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced as part of the UK Government’s Autumn Statement that Local

Callum Chomczuk, director of CIH Scotland, underlines the importance of housing for domestic abuse victims and survivors, and highlights the current 16 days of activism campaign about gender-based violence. Statistically speaking all of us will likely know someone who has experienced - or is ex

Helen Raftery, head of data protection complaints at the Information Comissioner's Office (ICO), discusses the importance of data protection in the housing sector, highlighting common issues like inappropriate data disclosures and failures in record-keeping, and offers guidance to housing orga

Dear Editor, I refer to Shelter Scotland’s comments in yesterday’s Scottish Housing News, SHR updates thematic report on homelessness services in Scotland.

Jimmy Black reflects on a conversation with architect Laurence Wood about rebuilding homes after natural disasters. Seeing your home completely destroyed by a typhoon, an earthquake, or an airstrike must be one of the worst things that can happen to you. Once your government and the international ai

Bruce Robertson, lending manager for Scotland at specialist property finance lender Atelier, looks at the challenges that Scotland’s housing market is facing in 2024 and beyond. It is no surprise that Edinburgh Council and, most recently, Glasgow Council have declared housing emergencies. The

Paralympian curling athlete & Accessibility Ambassador for Horizon Housing, Aileen Neilson, reflects on issues raised at the first ever Scottish Parliament for disabled persons last weekend and looks ahead to the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Sunday, December 3rd. It was a

Jocelyne Fleming, policy and public affairs officer for CIOB in Scotland, explains why the Scottish Government is missing a trick in its efforts to support social housing providers. I recently had the privilege of sitting down with representatives from Scottish housing associations and the contracto

As Share launches its “Dealing with grief at Christmas” webinar, Julie-Ann Cloherty, Share’s 'earning and development officer, gives her perspective on why it is so important to recognise that it may not be merry and bright for everyone every festive season

Accountant Stuart Beattie sets out the key challenges of rising costs, sustainability investment requirements and a demand for more stock that are currently facing housing associations. Last week I attended the annual Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) Finance Conference. The ev

In the wake of Homes for Scotland's annual conference and ahead of next month's Scottish Budget, chief executive Jane Wood repeats the trade body's call for local authorities to be adequately resourced to deliver much-needed new homes. Last week, Homes for Scotland held its annual conference in

Caitriona Jordan, head of retrofit at Built Environment Smarter Transformation (BE-ST), Sara Edmonds, head of citizen engagement at BE-ST, and co-director of the National Retrofit Hub (NRH), and Rachael Owens, co-director of NRH, share their insights from the International Retrofit Conference. As th

Jimmy Black ponders on placemaking, and a 20 minute neighbourhood which is 864 years old When I think about it, I grew up in a perfect ‘place’. In our burgh of 2,000 people there were shops … an ironmonger, draper, newsagent, three butchers, two bakers, one fishmonger, one shoe sh