An article examined the future of the community housing sector in Scotland. Despite the rhetoric of the 'Big Society', budgetary pressures and rationalization within the sector might serve to undermine the existence and success of small, place-based community organizations.
Source: Kim McKee, 'The future of community housing in Scotland: some thoughts and reflections', People, Place & Policy, Volume 4 Issue 3
Links: Article
Date: 2010-Dec
The Scottish Parliament approved a Bill designed to remove the 'right to buy' social and council housing. The Bill also established a new Scottish Housing Regulator, and introduced a charter for social housing.
Source: Housing (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government/TSO | Scottish Parliament Debate 3 November 2010, columns 29856-29946, Official Report/TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Official Report | Scottish Government press release | SNP press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2010-Nov
An evidence review examined the relationship between domestic abuse, housing, and homelessness in Scotland.
Source: Domestic Abuse, Housing and Homelessness in Scotland: An Evidence Review, Scottish Government
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Nov
Researchers examined the capacity of social landlords and local councils in Scotland to finance and build new housing stock against a range of assumptions. They found that housing associations had the power to build new homes with much less public funding.
Source: Glen Bramley, Hal Pawson, James Morgan, Steve Wilcox and Peter Williams, A Study Into the Capacity of Registered Social Landlords and Local Authorities to Build Housing Across Scotland, Scottish Government
Links: Report | Summary | Scottish Government press release | Public Finance report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2010-Nov
A report called on the Scottish Government to protect housing investment as much as possible, because it played a critical role in strengthening economic recovery, improving health outcomes, raising educational achievement, reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, and helping older people live at home for longer.
Source: David Bookbinder, A Fair Share for Housing: The value of housing investment, Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland
Links: Report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2010-Nov
The Scottish Government published a Bill designed to raise the standard of private rented housing. The Bill would amend the law on how private landlords were registered, and give local councils more powers to tackle bad landlords.
Source: Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government/TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2010-Oct
An article examined the extent to which the planning process in Scotland represented an exercise in participation (entailing empowerment of participants) or rather in social control (through which public participation was managed in order to secure particular outcomes).
Source: Mhairi Aitken, 'A three-dimensional view of public participation in Scottish land-use planning: empowerment or social control?', Planning Theory, Volume 9 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Aug
A report examined the impact of population ageing on housing in Scotland. The main impacts were on changing demands for housing supply and the housing stock; on support for people to remain at home; and on adaptations to housing stock. Each of these types of housing need was projected to rise rapidly as a result of population ageing.
Source: The Impact of Population Ageing on Housing in Scotland, Scottish Government
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Jul
A paper examined issues related to investment in affordable housing in Scotland.
Source: Tony O Sullivan (ed.), Investing in Affordable Housing A Radical Rethink? Volume 2, Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland
Links: Paper
Date: 2010-Jul
An article examined the use of tenure mix as a regeneration strategy in Scotland.
Source: Kim Mckee, 'Promoting homeownership at the margins: the experience of low-cost homeownership purchasers in regeneration areas', People, Place & Policy, Volume 4 Issue 2
Links: Article
Date: 2010-Jul
A report by a committee of MSPs called for improved links between transport and land use planning policies.
Source: Report on the Inquiry Into the Relationship Between Transport and Land Use Planning Policies, 7th Report 2010, SP Paper 480, Scottish Parliament Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release
Date: 2010-Jul
A paper examined general household formation trends in Scotland. Overall household numbers were increasing because the average household was getting smaller, with more people living alone and in smaller households. Between 2008 and 2033 the number of households was projected to increase by 21 per cent to 2.8 million.
Source: Household Formation in Scotland: What does it mean for housing policy?, Scottish Government
Links: Paper
Date: 2010-Jul
A report by a committee of MSPs gave qualified support to the Housing (Scotland) Bill, including plans to remove the 'right to buy' social and council housing.
Source: Stage 1 Report on the Housing (Scotland) Bill, 5th Report 2010, SP Paper 456, Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release | BBC report
Date: 2010-Jun
A literature review examined the social and economic impact of housing in Scotland. A fiscal stimulus for additional housing investment in Scotland to combat the effects of the recession had saved private sector jobs and enabled public agencies to retain skills in the construction industry.
Source: Sarah Monk, Connie Tang and Christine Whitehead, What Does the Literature Tell Us About the Social and Economic Impact of Housing?, Scottish Government
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Jun
The Scottish Government published a discussion document on housing policy, asking where its priorities should lie as between increasing social housing, supporting aspiring home-owners, and reducing carbon emissions. It said that Scotland was facing 'unprecedented challenges' – over the next 25 years, the number of households in Scotland was projected to increase by more than one-fifth to 2.8 million.
Source: Housing: Fresh Thinking, New Ideas, Scottish Government
Links: Discussion paper | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2010-May
A report said that the Scottish Government should rethink its policy of expanding owner-occupation. It questioned whether the existing levels of owner occupation in Scotland were sustainable.
Source: Newhaven Research, Castles in the Air: Housing policy and the UK love affair with owner occupation, Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland
Links: Report | CIH press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2010-Mar
The Scottish Government began consultation on proposals designed to improve the standard of private rented housing.
Source: Consultation Paper on a Proposed Housing Bill: The private rented sector, licensing of mobile home sites and the twenty year rules, Scottish Government
Links: Consultation document | Scottish Government press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2010-Mar
The Scottish Government published its first-ever policy statement on street design – aimed at giving greater priority to 'place making' than the needs of motor vehicles.
Source: Designing Streets: A policy statement for Scotland, Scottish Government
Links: Policy statement | Living Streets press release | Scotsman report
Date: 2010-Mar
The Scottish Parliament approved a Bill designed to improve protection for home-owners faced with repossession at each stage of the repossession process, in particular by requiring all lenders to demonstrate in court that they had taken reasonable steps to avoid repossession.
Source: Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government/TSO | Scottish Parliament Debate 11 February 2010, columns 23728-23753, Official Report/TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Official Report | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2010-Feb
The Scottish Government published a Bill designed to improve the supply and quality of housing in Scotland. New council house and housing association tenants would no longer have the right to buy their homes.
Source: Housing (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government/TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Scottish Government press release | BBC report | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2010-Jan