Opinion

Holmes Miller director Ryan Holmes shares what could be learned from the education sector when it comes to the proposed Scottish Passivhaus equivalent policy for new build housing. Designing buildings to meet the international Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency can cut heating energy use by u

Malcolm Bell, member of the Accounts Commission, discusses the challenges facing local councils in Scotland, including financial pressures, increasing demand, and the need for transformation in service delivery, and how they can be addressed through effective leadership, collaboration, and community

With the consultation on the Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard expected to begin shortly, Kate de Selincourt from the UK Passivhaus Trust shares what it could deliver in terms of health. Scotland has big problems with public health. The life expectancy at birth is the lowest in the

Mark O'Neill, head of energy consultancy at Hardies Property & Construction Consultants, likens heating a building to filling a sieve. I’m partial to a good analogy. In a literary sense, they serve the purpose of allowing a comparison to be drawn between two unrelated concepts to make a cl

As Scotland's councils are increasingly faced with tough budget decisions, the role of the chief financial officer (CFO) is critical in ensuring financial sustainability and stability in local government, writes Jo Armstrong – chair of Audit Scotland's Accounts Commission. Our Spring budget br

To mark Net Zero Week, Procast Group's growth and development manager David Chapman reflects on the firm's work so far with key partners to achieve its net zero goals and what the future has in store. Procast Group is a strong advocate for sustainability, and we invest significantly both internally,

Zander Muego discusses the complexities of decarbonising the UK's existing housing stock, particularly social housing, in the pursuit of net zero targets while addressing fuel poverty and ensuring wider community benefits. The importance of decarbonisation is becoming increasingly well understo

CEO of Scottish property portal ESPC, Paul Hilton, shares his thoughts on how the new UK government could help to bring about much-needed change in Scotland’s housing. While housing is a devolved matter, ESPC hopes that the promises made by Labour in the recent general election might help to b

The Scottish government is seeking to address some of the overly restrictive aspects of the short-term let licensing rules, but the measures may not be enough to tackle “unnecessary” regulation and financial burdens faced by the Scottish tourism industry, writes Kirsty Gallacher. In

The UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) discusses the emotional interactions between housing policy makers and recipients. Whilst we may think of policy making as a process dominated by rational thinking, there is growing interest in the role that emotions play. This research partic

Jane Wood, chief executive of Homes for Scotland, discusses the alarming decline of small and medium-sized home builders in Scotland and its impact on the housing crisis, emphasising the need for urgent policy reforms to support the sector. Last week, Homes for Scotland (HFS) published a report reve

Chris McGinn, commercial manager at PfH Scotland, discusses the temporary accommodation crisis that social landlords are dealing with. Soaring demand for homelessness services is a major challenge for Scottish social landlords right now. In its latest annual assessment, the Scottish Housing Regulato

Jimmy Black picks up themes from the latest episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast, with SFHA’s Sally Thomas, Holyrood PR’s Chris Fairbairn and co-host Kieran Findlay.

Deputy chair Andrew Watson details the Scottish Housing Regulator's latest meeting with systemically important landlords. On 3 June 2024, we held the second of three meetings this year of the Systemically Important landlord group.

Jon Turner, Link Group chief executive officer, discusses the importance of customer engagement. How do we make sure we are delivering the services our tenants and service users need, when they need it, to the right quality, every time? And could this be the ‘Holy Grail’? Possibly not, b