“If we can get 90% of it right, I'd be delighted if somebody else came up with the other 10% and built on that. That's the history of social housing, right? Standing on the shoulders of giants and keeping getting better and better and better. We're just part of that chain.”

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black wrap up their series on accessible housing with an exploration into what it takes to deliver a fully accessible home.

Simon Fitzpatrick, the chief executive of Blackwood, shares the story behind a £17.5 million development that will bring 66 highly adapted, technologically advanced homes to the Charleston area of Dundee.

Each of the homes is equipped with Blackwood's CleverCogs technology and there’s also some larger properties based on the Blackwood House design, both of which are explained in this episode.

Recorded just days after the Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit, the episode also includes discussions about the collaboration required to deliver a fully accessible development, measuring success and housing legacy.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/accessible-housing-part-4-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-wheels-lifts-and-transformational-housing

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“Partnership work is about relationships, it's knowing people, it's understanding each of us have roles and responsibilities but keeping in mind what we're all trying to achieve at the end of the day and that's the outcomes for people that live in our communities to allow them to thrive and survive.”

Continuing with their accessible housing series, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black focus on the link between housing and social care services with a look into a region where it is working really well.

Jacquie Pepper, chief officer/director at the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership and Elaine Ritchie, strategic lead for Housing & Communities at Perth & Kinross Council,  share how their Independent Living Panel serves as a forum for partnership working between housing, PKHSCP and other agencies, including RSLs and care providers.

There’s a look into how Perth & Kinross has integrated technology into its social care services and why the Gannochy Trust estate provides an ideal development for care integration.

The episode ends with a plea from Elaine Ritchie for the Scottish Government to reinvest in affordable housing to ease the current pressure on services and advance its own poverty agenda.

Jacquie Pepper will join one of the panel sessions at the Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit, which will take place at the V&A Dundee on September 26th.

A transcript of this episode is available here:

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/accessible-housing-part-3-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here:

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-working-together-through-a-crisis-in-perth-kinross

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“If we don't grab and grab with both hands that prevention agenda, do more now, given we know what's coming our way from our demographics, then we are going to be in a much worse state than we are now in 10, 20 years time.”

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black continue their exploration of the current issues surrounding social care and accessible housing with Angela Currie, the chief executive of Hanover Scotland.

Angela talks about the difficulty in forging the cross-sector relationships required to deliver the level of service and quality of homes to its older residents, particularly with regard to procurement and strategic partnerships.

We look ahead to the results of the Scottish Housing Accessibility Standard consultation and look back on the legacy of the late Julia Fitzpatrick.

Hanover has recently come on board as a sponsor for the event, which will take place at the V&A Dundee on September 26th.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/accessible-housing-part-2-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-ijbs-and-the-sword-of-damocles

Further reading:

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“You can't do all of the things that people take for granted if you can't get in and out of your house.”

In the run-up to the Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit in Dundee, Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay discuss the practical housing issues often confronted by people with disabilities with the campaigning MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy.

Pam, who represents a Glasgow regional seat and is deputy convener of the Cross Party Parliamentary Group on Disability, will chair a session at the event in September.

The discussion touches on her role in a public consultation on accessible housing, which fed into a wider commission on housing, and the following conclusions of that report.

They also speak about the wider benefits of people being able to live independently and how important it is that people with accessibility requirements are involved in these discussions.

A transcript of this episode is available here.

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here.

Tickets for the Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit are available here.

Further reading:

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“We have a theory of change which demonstrates the changes we are hoping to see in people's lives that will ultimately help us achieve our vision of a world where everyone has an equal chance to create a safe and supportive place to call home.”

Returning to the subject of homelessness, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black speak to two charities that between them have been operating in Scotland for almost 350 years.

Helen Murdoch and Janet Haugh provide brief histories of their respective charities, The Salvation Army and Right There, before turning the focus to current challenges.

We then discuss The Salvation Army’s Breaking the Cycle report, which recommends urgent collection of data on the number of people rough sleeping, along with cause-of-death data for anyone who dies while living in temporary accommodation, as well as the Right There Impact Report, which measured the saving to the public purse as a result of the support that it provides to people facing or experiencing homelessness.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/the-holistic-approach-to-homelessness-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-space-time-empathy-and-practical-stuff-saves-cash

Further reading:

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

“In crisis situations, don't try and save face in front of us. Tell us the warts and all. Tell us the reality of the situation here. If we're going in with one hand tied behind our back, then it isn't going to end well.”

In this episode of the Scottish Housing News Podcast, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black discuss the value of effective communications in the social housing sector with Sally Thomas, the chief executive at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, and Chris Fairbairn, an associate director at public relations consultancy Holyrood PR.

Social landlords have great stories to tell and its important to raise the reputation of your association and your work.

But what about when things aren’t going so well? The increased expectations of social landlords today bring ever-heightened scrutiny, and couple that with a cost of living crisis and a housing emergency then communicating the right message to the right people is crucial.

Listen to the guests share their insights on managing expectations against budget pressures, how landlords can recover their reputation amid a housing emergency and whether the ‘black arts’ are still practised by today’s PR companies.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/communications-during-a-crisis-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany this episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-if-you-put-peoples-backs-up-they-go-to-the-papers

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay conclude their series on the Scottish Government’s new Housing Bill with an interview with the minister responsible for bringing the legislation through Parliament, housing minister Paul McLennan.

The wide-ranging discussion centred on measures in the proposed legislation such as rent controls, homelessness and domestic abuse.

Mr McLennan also shared details of the first meeting of the Housing Investment Taskforce, which he described as one of many avenues the Scottish Government is looking to boost housebuilding.

The minister also said he intends to share details on an action plan to tackle Scotland's housing emergency over the next few days after a Housing to 2040 strategy group meeting took place last week.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-bill-part-4-paul-mclennan-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany this episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-half-an-hour-with-the-housing-minister

For more information on SHN’s Housing & Social Care Accessibility Summit in partnership with Horizon Housing, click here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/horizon-announces-summit-to-develop-solutions-for-accessible-housing-and-social-care-crisis

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black continue their look into the new Housing Bill with a look at the duties expected of social landlords regarding domestic abuse.

Under the proposed legislation, social landlords will have to provide support to tenants experiencing rent arrears or risk of homelessness due to domestic abuse, and to publish a policy on how it will exercise these functions.

To help explore what a domestic abuse policy could entail, and the key role that social landlords could have in tackling the issue, the panel included Michelle Meldrum, the chief executive at Berwickshire Housing Association, Eileen McMullan, policy lead at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, and returning to the podcast was Sophie Berry, a solicitor at Govan Law Centre.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/the-housing-bill-part-3-domestic-abuse-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-violence-in-the-home

Further reading:

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black put the Holyrood turmoil to one side and continue their exploration of various elements of the Scottish Government’s new Housing Bill with a look at proposed new homelessness prevention measures.

The legislation will introduce an ‘ask and act’ duty on social landlords and other bodies, such as health boards and the police, to ask about a person’s housing situation and take proactive steps to avoid them becoming homeless wherever possible.

But what could these proactive steps involve, do the measures go far enough or are they asking too much of already stretched resources? 

Ewan Aitken, the chief executive of homelessness charity Cyrenians, has the answers. Ewan co-chaired the Homelessness Prevention Task and Finish Group, on whose report, arguably, the homelessness elements of the new Housing Bill are based.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-bill-part-2-homelessness-prevention-duties-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-homelessness-how-to-ask-act

Further reading: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/scottish-government-publishes-new-housing-bill

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/

With the long-awaited Housing Bill finally here, hosts Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black will dedicate the next four episodes to digest various elements of the legislation, including homelessness and domestic abuse, culminating in an interview with housing minister Paul McLennan. But we begin the series with a discussion on increased rights for private tenants and, arguably the most contentious proposal, rent controls.

In previous episodes, we’ve heard tenants' union Living Rent say rent controls are absolutely vital to keep rents affordable and prevent people being priced out from living in Scotland’s cities. We’ve also spoken to landlords who argue that the measures will see reduced investment and more landlords leaving the sector, leading to higher costs for tenants.

To debate the merits of the Housing Bill and its impact on the private rented sector, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black speak to Dr John Boyle, the Director of Research & Strategy at Rettie.

Professor Douglas Robertson also contributed to this episode, but we had audio issues and so we can’t use the recording. However, you can find Douglas’ spirited contribution in the transcript.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-bill-part-1-rent-controls-and-tenants-rights-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-rent-controls-mean-well-but-do-they-work

Further reading:

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/