Scottish Housing News Podcast

ALACHO, the Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers, brings together those tasked with dealing with a multitude of issues which are increasingly shaped by worldwide events.  The Covid pandemic led to emergency measures on rents and evictions, while the ongoing conflict in Ukraine

The ongoing regeneration of Dalmarnock and the surrounding area has long fascinated Jimmy Black, both from a personal and professional point of view, so we decided to speak to two people at the heart of it. Until recently, Martin McKay was the executive director of regeneration at Clyde Gateway, the

Josiah Lockhart took the helm of Changeworks late last year to help implement the environmental charity's new focus on decarbonising Scotland’s homes. Josiah joins Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to discuss Changeworks' new purpose, the enormity of the challenge and the tools and resources the

Continuing with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) theme, we discuss whether housing associations, membership bodies and other organisations within the sector should be looking to increase diversity among staff, leadership and at board level. Why is it important? And what resources are avai

Housing Options Scotland and the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) have come together to produce a series of 'In Conversation' blogs and podcast-style recordings which tell stories about why accessible and inclusive housing, and housing-related services, are key to people’s

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act gives Ministers temporary powers to cap rent increases for private and social tenants, as well as for student accommodation, until at least 31 March 2023, effectively freezing rents for most tenants during this period. The legislation also preven

Back in 2020, Caledonia Housing Association carried out a comprehensive staff survey to review the impact of new working arrangements during lockdown and ensure staff are provided with the support to adapt to new practices and maintain key services for tenants. The survey was a part of the form

Jimmy Black reflects on Caledonia Housing Association's ‘agile’ staff strategy and gets misty-eyed about his old place of work in a Broughty Ferry mansion house. I came across the term “agile” when working in technology-enabled care. A bunch of expert software developers crea

Scottish Housing News is delighted to report that minister for zero carbon buildings, active travel and tenants' rights Patrick Harvie MSP has agreed to be interviewed as the next guest in our successful podcast series. Jimmy Black and SHN editor Kieran Findlay will interview Mr Harvie on Novem

Let’s start with the basics. We should build houses and plan communities that people can live in. Ok… which people? I’d like to answer “everyone” but that’s not what we do. Is the answer “people who can drive, think clearly and are able to walk and climb st

The National Housing and Dementia Forum has published a report that sets out recommendations for how the Scottish Government and partner organisations can better support people to live well with dementia. Over the past year, the Forum gathered evidence from a wide range of experts and people with li

Jimmy Black rounds up a lively discussion on the Scottish Housing News Podcast about tenant participation and how it has evolved since the pandemic. Who gets to have housing fun? Not the staff and not the board members at their very serious conferences. It’s the tenants who have the fun.

Social housing tenants have a statutory right to have a say in the running of their homes, but what does that mean in practice? TPAS Scotland has been providing support in this very field for over 40 years and has launched a new campaign to help housing organisations and tenants to build better rela

Jimmy Black ponders rent freezes, inflation, land reform, housebuilding, planning and community buy-outs, all in one blog ... and notes a sterling lobbying effort from Homes for Scotland on National Planning Framework 4. Much has happened since Scottish Housing News published the recent podcast with

Ahead of Homes for Scotland's Annual Conference 2022, Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay speak to the organisation's new CEO Jane Wood who is just three months into her new post. We discuss developer contributions and the recent Homes for Scotland research on the extent of affordable housing contributio