Opinion

RNID, the charity supporting people who are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus, has submitted the following letter ahead of Volunteers' Week (1 - 7 June 2026). Dear Editor,  As we mark Volunteers’ Week (1–7 June 2026), I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate the outstan

CIOB’s Scottish policy and public affairs lead, Dr Jocelyne Fleming, uses the CIOB Column for our sister publication Scottish Construction Now, to outline what the latest government reshuffle may hold in store for the construction sector. The results have been tallied, MSPs sworn in, and

Helen Trouten Torres shares an update from the latest meeting of the Scottish Housing Regulator's Tenants Together (Scotland) Scottish Housing Regulator Liaison Group. We work with tenant representatives through the Tenants Together (Scotland) Scottish Housing Regulator Liaison Group as one of the w

CIH Scotland director Gillian McLees reacts to the new Scottish Government cabinet, with the lack of a dedicated housing minister, and reflects on yesterday's housing statistics. The latest Scottish Government housing statistics tell a clear story: need is rising, delivery is falling short, and the

This Dementia Action Week, CIH Scotland policy and practice manager Ashley Campbell looks forward to working with a new Scottish government to ensure that housing is recognised as central to supporting people to live well with dementia. A new national dementia strategy. A joint ministerial roundtabl

Crisis Scotland’s senior policy officer, Rhuaraidh Fleming, calls on the new Scottish Government to kick-start cross-party working to end homelessness. “Homelessness is the result of political decisions, and Scotland can end it altogether with the right political will” – Cris

With housing completions in Scotland remaining slow, Catherine Wood, development director at Lovell Strategic Land, argues that there’s a need to line up more consented land across the country to enable the delivery of homes for the next decade and beyond. After months of poll-watching, specul

In the latest in a series of blogs for Scottish Housing News ahead of the analogue to digital switch-off, Sharon Hannah, project manager at the ​Digital Office for Scottish Local Government, shares what has been learned from the process to date. Digital migration can feel like a straight line on p

Craig Stirrat, group CEO of Grampian Housing Association, and Chris McGinn, commercial manager at PfH Scotland, highlight the unique set of challenges facing Scottish social landlords right now, and share why strategic procurement matters more than ever. A significant share of social housing expendi

New VELUX managing director Alex O’Dell sets out why Scotland needs a new vision for healthy, affordable housing. With the Holyrood election upon us, Scotland is at a critical moment. With 693,000 households in some form of housing need, the country faces a challenge that extends far beyond co

Ahead of the Scottish election, Jennifer Lewis, RSM's senior analyst for real estate & construction, argues that incentivising developers is key to meeting government housebuilding targets. Most parties have shown a shared ambition to build a significant number of new homes, with targets varying

What do the manifesto pledges mean for homeowners, buyers and sellers in real terms? ESPC’s CEO, Paul Hilton, reveals what he really thinks of the promises made by the political parties ahead of next month’s Holyrood elections. When election time rolls around, it’s always interesti

Building on a plenary session at Scotland's Housing Festival, a visit to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and a recent report highlighting key issues around accessibility, the Housing team at the University of Stirling shine a light on the importance of fire doors and shares a SFRS referr

Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations director David Bookbinder shares his top six election manifesto misconceptions. It’s a funny old business looking through the main parties’ election pledges on housing. Some good intentions around, and some fairly radical ideas,

With a significant proportion of the current workforce approaching retirement and demand for services increasing, Sarah Steel, head of people at Hanover Scotland, argues that attracting the next generation isn't just beneficial but it's essential, and that social housing's purpose-driven nature shou