The use of the term ‘affordable’ has been helpful to those who deliver homes in Scotland, but for others, it has become vague and redundant. Michael Carberry of Blochairn Housing Association is one of the latter. Thankfully, he agreed to come on to the podcast to air his views. John Blackwood from the Scottish Association of Landlords tackles the affordability question for landlords and tenants in the private rented sector and we also hear from Gordon Maloney and members of tenants’ union Living Rent*.

*Jimmy's introduction refers to Living Rent as a private tenants union. In fact, tenants of all tenures are members of Living Rent.

Blochairn Housing Association - https://blochairn.org/

Scottish Association of Landlords - https://scottishlandlords.com/

Living Rent- https://www.livingrent.org/

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-affordable

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up for our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Scottish Empty Homes Partnership national project manager Shaheena Din joins Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to discuss the number of empty homes in Scotland and outline why local authorities should have an Empty Homes Officer and empty homes strategy.

Scottish Empty Homes Partnership - https://emptyhomespartnership.scot/

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-filling-up-the-empties

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up for our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay are joined by Kirsty McKechnie, early warning system project manager at the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland,and Aaron Hill, director of membership and policy at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, for a fascinating discussion on poverty and inequality where they find much to agree on about the links between housing and social security.

SFHA - https://www.sfha.co.uk/

Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland - https://cpag.org.uk/scotland

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-no-social-housing-without-the-social

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up for our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Two days later than usual, this episode sees Simon Payne, category manager at Stirling Council, and Hugh Carr, head of strategic procurement at Scotland Excel, steer Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay through the world of public sector procurement and discuss how the current framework process helps alleviate much of the current challenges.

Stirling Council - https://stirling.gov.uk/

Scotland Excel - https://home.scotland-excel.org.uk/

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-being-passionate-about-procurement

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up to our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Fresh from the 20th anniversary celebrations of the community buy out on the Isle of Gigha,  Community Land Scotland chair Ailsa Raeburn joins Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to share the community successes, highlight the transformation of the island’s homes and discuss the parallels between community enterprises and community-based housing associations.

Community Land Scotland - https://www.communitylandscotland.org.uk/

Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust - https://www.gigha.org.uk/

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-you-cannot-own-the-land-the-land-owns-you

This episode was sponsored by DTL Creative, your go to partner for improving the Social Housing Sector through leading edger technology and innovation.

https://www.dtl-creative.co.uk/

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up to our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Shelter Scotland’s deputy director Gordon MacRae and Martin Gavin, improvement lead at Homeless Network Scotland, join Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to discuss the present homelessness situation in Scotland.

Despite strong cross-party consensus on eradicating homelessness and the strong partnerships between government, councils, health, social care and the third sector, the number of homelessness applications is still stubbornly high. Find out the opinions of both charities on why this is the case and what can be, and is being, done to reverse the trend.

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

Homeless Network Scotland - https://homelessnetwork.scot/

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-homelessness-doing-everything-right-but-still-getting-it-wrong

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up to our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Jennifer Higgins, the managing director of Connect Modular, part of the Wee House Group, and Andy Kennedy, the project manager for the £13 million Hillcrest development at Dundee’s Victoria Dock, join Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to talk all things modular construction.

Building homes in factories and transporting them to the site has numerous benefits, but the method is not without its challenges, especially within the current landscape of Brexit.

The Wee House Company - https://theweehousecompany.co.uk/

Hillcrest - https://www.hillcrest.org.uk/

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-the-challenges-and-opportunities-of-modular-housebuilding

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up to our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Ann Leslie of Lar Housing Trust and Matthew Busher of Kingdom Group join Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay to talk all things mid-market rent (MMR).

Find out the typical tenant demographics, funding structure and future expansion plans of both organisations who approach MMR from slightly different angles.

Ann Leslie also expands on her Appreciation of Rani Dhir, who sadly passed away this year.

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/rani-dhir-an-appreciation-by-ann-leslie

Kingdom Housing Association - https://www.kingdomhousing.org.uk/

Lar Housing Trust - https://larhousingtrust.co.uk/

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-mid-market-rents-are-they-the-answer

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up to our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Jimmy Black and Kieran Findlay are joined by Geraldine Begg, technology enabled care in housing lead at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and Heather Dorling, the team manager of Loreburn Housing Association’s Later Living Service, to hear about how Loreburn is using technology to provide a range of services to residents in its enhanced housing developments, the infinite potential available if organisations work together effectively and how other housing associations can get involved.

Technology Enabled Care in Housing - https://techousing.co.uk/

Loreburn Housing Association - https://loreburn.org.uk/

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-your-house-can-hear-feel-and-maybe-rescue-you-if-you-let-it

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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up to our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL

Former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner Jimmy Black is joined by former Link Group chief executive Craig Sanderson and TPAS Scotland chief executive Lesley Baird as they cast their minds back to a time when modern housing associations were new and tenants struggled to be heard.

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

https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-making-up-the-rules

Feedback on this episode 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 at www.scottishhousingnews.com and sign up to our free daily newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bkCDxL