In this episode of Equality in Housing, hosts Gareth Young (UK Centre for Housing Evidence) and Pedro Cameron (Tenants Information Service) are joined by Kai Jackson who authored ‘Is There a Seat at the Table?’ report in her capacity as Tpas Associate. Kai led on this work exploring the underrepresentation of ethnic minority tenants in formal engagement structures within the UK social housing sector. 

In this episode we take a deep dive into the report to discuss the motivations behind the work and what Kai found. We discuss what tenant participation in England looks like at the moment and talk through what staff and residents feel about how well things are going. 

You can find the report on the Tpas website here. 

You can find out more about Kai’s work and connect with her on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Equality in Housing, hosts Gareth Young (UK Centre for Housing Evidence) and Pedro Cameron (Tenants Information Service) are joined by Professor Vikki McCall from the University of Stirling. Vikki shares insights from the Intersectional Stigma of Place-based Ageing (ISPA) project, a groundbreaking five-year study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

We explore the barriers older and disabled people face in housing and communities, from place-based stigma to the lack of accessible, well-designed home adaptations. Vikki discusses the power of co-production, with over 140 community peer researchers gathering real-life experiences to shape more inclusive policies. We also hear about the Inclusive Living Alliance, a coalition working to create practical, stigma-free housing solutions that benefit everyone.

Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on why housing plays a crucial role in ageing well, and how better design, policy, and collaboration can create more inclusive communities for all.

●     The ISPA project page can be found here.

●      For more information on the Inclusive Living Alliance that is being developed, and how to get involved, click here.

●      You can read more about Vikki’s ‘Designing homes for healthy cognitive ageing’ here. 

●      Invisible Creations were discussed as a new way of thinking about the visual impacts of home adaptations to help increase their uptake and reduce stigma.

In this episode we are joined by Alice Tooms-Moore, Senior Advocacy Officer from Shelter Scotland, and Lucy Hughes, Policy and Parliamentary Manager from Engender. In This episode we'll talk to Alice and Lucy about their recent report, Gender and the Housing Emergency, as well as exploring what the housing emergency looks like in Scotland, and in particular from a gendered perspective.

In this episode, we speak to Janet Haugh, CEO of Right There. We chat to Janet about a new report published to mark 200 years of the charity. We talk about their work and the impact it has had over the years.

Equality in Housing returns for Series 2 with a conversation with Mushtaq Khan, Chief Executive of Housing Diversity Network. Pedro and Gareth spoke to Mushtaq about the work of HDN, the opportunities presented for the housing landscape by a new government, and the role housing associations should play in responding to racism, particularly in the context of the UK riots of 2024.

https://www.housingdiversitynetwork.co.uk/

HDN has produced a Roundtable Briefing following the far-right violence in England in 2024.

HDN has produced a 14-point plan to support tenants and communities through the riots. 

Better Social Housing Review

Hope Not Hate

In this episode, we speak to Edith England (Cardiff Met University) and Neil Turnbull (Cardiff University) about LGBTQ+ housing and homeless. Edith and Neil talk us through their latest research project, which included an extensive survey of over 1000 young LGBTQ+ people about their housing situations. We talk about the policy and legislative landscape and explore what is needed to make the system fair.

LGBTQ+ Homelessness Survey: https://www.instagram.com/lgbtqplushomelessnesssurvey/

UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence -

BLOG: Is queer theory relevant to LGBTQ+ homelessness? By Edith England,

BLOG: What don’t we know about LGBTQ+ homelessness (and how you can help

Previous episodes referenced -

with Rhiannon Sims: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hos-cache/episodes/Live-at-Scotlands-Housing-Festival-with-Rhiannon-Sims--Crisis-Scotland-e2i4ihe

with Kelly Henderson: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hos-cache/episodes/Domestic-Abuse-With-Kelly-Henderson--Addressing-Domestic-Abuse-e1umrd3/a-a9ac86q

Book reference in this episode -

In The Dreamhouse by Carmen Maria Machado: https://serpentstail.com/work/in-the-dream-house/

More information coming soon about the research report and future focus groups.

For this special episode we were delighted to be invited by the Chartered Institute of Housing to record live amongst the bustle of Scotland’s Housing Festival. We were joined by then Senior Policy Officer for Crisis Scotland, Rhiannon Sims. We spoke to Rhiannon about equalities in the current Scottish Housing Climate, about the concept of “reasonableness” and disadvantage in accessing housing and homelessness, and connecting knowledge with practice.

Podcast notes:

Crisis Scotland

https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/scotland/ 

Fund to Leave (now closed to applications)

https://womensaid.scot/information-support/fund-to-leave/#:~:text=The%20Fund%20to%20Leave%20is%20there%20to%20provide%20the%20money,options%20when%20experiencing%20domestic%20abuse. 

Furnishing Futures

https://furnishingfutures.org/ 

Homes for Scotland – Existing Housing Need in Scotland

https://homesforscotland.com/our-work/existinghousingneedinscotland/ 

Housing to 2040

https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-2040-2/ 

I-SPHERE Research Institute

Website: https://i-sphere.site.hw.ac.uk/ 

Research report: Hard Edges: The reality for women affected by severe and multiple disadvantage: https://i-sphere.site.hw.ac.uk/2024/02/08/the-reality-for-women-affected-by-severe-and-multiple-disadvantage/  

In The Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado

https://serpentstail.com/work/in-the-dream-house/

Rock Trust: Upstream

https://www.rocktrust.org/news-upstream-scotland/  

Shelter Scotland

Website: https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/  

Research: Minoritised ethnic access to social housing in Scotland at key transition points: https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/policy_library/minoritised_ethnic_access_to_social_housing_in_scotland_research

In this episode we speak to Emma Hock, Research Follow at the University of Sheffield, about her work looking at housing insecurity and its impacts on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. Amongst her findings, she discusses impacts including isolation, loss of friendship, negative effects on mental health, and access to education and healthcare. She also looks at what families are doing to improve the lives of young people, and what housing providers could be doing better to support them to mitigate the negative effects.

Notes

You can find the evidence review here. 

Information on the Renters Reform Bill can be found here: 

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmcomloc/624/report.html

https://housingevidence.ac.uk/publications/the-impact-of-regulatory-reform-on-the-private-rented-sector/

Information about research funded by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home on the benefits of pet ownership in rental accommodation can be found here. 

The UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) published a working paper exploring people’s housing aspirations and choices.

For our first episode of 2024, we have a conversation with Francis Burrows, Director of Support and Service Development for Housing Association Orbit. 

Francis talks about the work the organisation does to engage with their tenants, particularly underrepresented groups, and how that work informs their policies and processes in how they support them.

Notes:

Housing Ombudsman

Housing Ombudsman

National Housing

Orbit: https://www.orbitcustomerhub.org.uk/about-us/

Tenant Satisfaction

This special episode was recorded in front of a Live Audience at SCVO’s The Gathering event at the EICC in Edinburgh. We are joined by a panel of speakers, comprising of Gordon MacRae, Assistant Director of Shelter Scotland, Aer Nicholson Clasby, who leads on Third Sector Human Rights and Equalities, and Iain Chisholm, New Migrants Action Project Leader at Positive Action in Housing. This episode takes a zoomed out look at equality in housing in Scotland through a third sector lens.

Shelter Scotland - https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/

Third Sector Human Rights and Equalities (THRE) - https://thre.org.uk/

Positive Action in Housing https://www.paih.org/

Minoritised ethnic access to social housing in Scotland at key transition points - Report by Shelter Scotland