“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…

“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 repr…

“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 betw…

“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 communication…

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 domest…

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…

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 po…

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 privat…

"Technically heat networks aren't really difficult. It is just large-scale plumbing. The heat's already there, we're just moving it.” With the Scottish Government’s New Build Heat Standard now in force, the installation of ‘direct emission’ systems for heating for new build homes and other buildings is now banned in Scotland. Effectively, this mean…

“If we have a choice between a tenant having their home flooded or having to put on an extra jumper, which would you recommend?” For anyone who has encountered architect Fionn Stevenson over her career, her answer to this question will be obvious. It forms part of her claim that a blanket one-size-fits-all fabric-first approach to retrofitting shou…

Almost a year since Scotland appointed its first dedicated housing minister, three councils have declared housing emergencies due to mounting pressures in their local housing systems and dozens of others could be set to follow. Now housing bodies across Scotland are making a concerted effort to say that it's not just individual regions that are str…

With the Tenant Protection Bill’s in-tenancy rent cap and eviction measures due to expire in a matter of weeks, the Scottish Government has proposed an adjudication scheme to ease the transition until a long-awaited Housing Bill comes to pass. Under the proposals, the process for rent adjudication will temporarily be modified from April 1st for one…

Fresh from being recognised by CIH Scotland with a Lifetime Achievement award for having gone the extra mile during his career, Grampian Housing Association chief executive Craig Stirrat joins Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to talk about his 40 years in housing so far and the current challenges facing the housing sector. Hear Craig's views on housi…

With Reidvale Housing Association currently considering its options after shareholders voted against a proposed transfer of engagements to Place for People Scotland, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black reflect on some of the issues that have been raised so far. They spoke to Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney, who was a prominent part of the campaign again…

The boys round up their deep dive into the first season of one of our favourite TV shows of recent years - The Bear. Kieran and Tarig, who are on their second and third watches of the series respectively, attempt to navigate a spoiler-free journey for Darren, who will be watching it for the first time and rating the series as he goes. In episode 7 …

Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black step outside the Scottish social housing bubble to consider the impact of housing design in the aftermath of a disaster. Earlier this year, architect and University of Dundee lecturer Laurence Wood took a group of Year 5 Architecture students to Turkey, which had just suffered from a terrible earthquake, to live in ru…

G joins the team as they review the 2018 Scottish thriller Calibre and finally get a chance to talk about THAT scene.We share thoughts on director Matt Palmer's various shorts before delving into his debut feature-length movie. Listen as the boys navigate the moral quandary posed by the characters' situation and find out Tarig’s major beef with the…

Kieran Findlay is joined by Steve Malone and Johnny Cadell, both principal architects at Architecture & Design Scotland, and Grant Baxter, the planning & building standards team leader at Clackmannanshire Council, to tell the story of a town centre development at Primrose Street in Alloa. Together they share their experiences of working to support …

Join us as we continue our dive into one of our favourite TV shows of recent years - The Bear. Kieran and Tarig, who are on their second and third watches of the series respectively, attempt to navigate a spoiler-free journey for Darren, who will be watching it for the first time and rating the series as he goes. Will he improve on his 6/10 rating …

It is difficult to remember a time when global, UK and national events have aligned so acutely to heap even more pressure on Scotland's local housing systems. Committed professional sectors from across the housing, homelessness and refugee sectors gathered at Scotland's Annual Homelessness Conference on October 31st to unlock solutions to these unp…

A new guest joins the boys for what turns out to be another bumper episode of recommendations. We find out if Kieran’s trip to the cinema to see Oppenheimer was worth it and debate the merits of dubbed versions of foreign language shows. In this episode we discuss… What to watch: Painkiller Saw X Adam Copeland and Christian Cage reunited Seven Psyc…

Scottish Housing Day took place last month to celebrate careers across housing by showcasing the variety of roles and routes into the sector and making the case for housing to be recognised as an important and valued career. But it also served to raise awareness of the need to replace a largely ageing workforce and support the next generation of ho…

Join us as we continue our dive into one of our favourite TV shows of recent years - The Bear. Kieran and Tarig, who are on their second and third watches of the series respectively, attempt to navigate a spoiler-free journey for Darren, who will be watching it for the first time and rating the series as he goes. Will he improve on his 4/10 rating …

While financial pressures have undoubtedly played a huge part in a slowdown of new homes being delivered, there is a strong sense among housebuilders that the planning process is also having a detrimental impact. A recent survey published by our sister publication Scottish Construction Now found that the statutory timeframe for the turnaround of pl…

Our new series of movie reviews kicks off with John Hughes' coming-of-age classic The Breakfast Club. As usual, expect tons of useless bits of trivia like which movie was being filmed in the same school at the same time and which character was almost played by Nicolas Cage. Play along with the usual categories: Best scene, Worst scene, Favourite qu…

The 2014 Unsuitable Accommodation Order was introduced to effectively end stays in unsuitable accommodation for any homeless person for more than 7 days. However, with these laws being consistently broken by local authorities for a number fo reasons Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black ask whether the law is fit for purpose. We clarify the legislation ar…

Join us as we detour from the usual episodes to take a look at one of our favourite TV shows of recent years - The Bear. Championed by Tarig and Kieran in the past, The Bear is new to Darren who will be watching it for the first time and rating the series as he goes. If you haven't seen The Bear before, this podcast series works best if you watch t…

As housing and care providers continue to grapple with Scotland’s ageing population, some are embracing tech more than ever before. Earlier this year, Bield Housing and Care officially launched a digital hub in Linlithgow. Securing £75k in funding from the TAPPI project, it set about showcasing a variety of preventative care technologies that aim t…

Season 4 kicks off with a round-up of what the boys have been watching over the summer. There’s a recommendation from a previous guest and a debate on whether No Hard Feelings should actually be something to avoid. Also, Darren recalls his recent trip to London, Kieran recalls a song that makes him throw something at the radio and Tarig recalls his…

The story behind Hanover Scotland’s award-winning development in Drymen has many threads. Not just Hanover’s first certified Passivhaus development, it is located at the very site of its first ever development in Scotland as a separate entity. The project also touches on a number of issues such as community consultation, energy efficiency and the c…

With its latest campaign, the SFHA is aiming to put Housing at the Heart of Scotland and keep it there. It looks to tell stories of the importance of social housing in Scotland and ensure social landlords are given the required support to continue this vital work. In this episode, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black talk to the SFHA’s director of extern…

The current framework for regulating social landlords in Scotland was introduced in 2019. Since then, tragic incidents here in the UK and worldwide events have changed how RSLs are expected to operate, possibly forever. So in this episode, we’re asking whether the way RSLs are regulated should also be changed to reflect this. Ahead of unveiling a p…

After touching on the use of data in a previous episode regarding Fit Homes, the Scottish Housing News Podcast returns to the issue by further considering other ways in which data analysis is helping inform decision-making across all areas of social housing from creating sustainable communities to assessing the stock condition. To help with this, K…

Recorded at this Year's TPAS Scotland Annual Conference on June 30th, this episode features a panel discussion hosted by Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black alongside Anne Marie Brown, CEO at Dalmuir Park Housing Association, and David Bookbinder, the director of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations. Questions and comments from…

The boys reconvene for the last time this season for the second annual Krusty Brass Nipple Awards for the best, and worst, moments of the last 16 movies. Before that, Tarig meets his match in the form of a couple of mating seagulls and Kieran meets a fellow sufferer of a slippy new syndrome. At the end, the boys sort out the next round of 16 movies…

After the Scottish Government published rules for all new properties applying for a building warrant from April 2024 having to utilise zero direct emissions heating systems, we wanted to focus on what it could mean in practice. Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black are joined by Richard Orr, the head of asset and regeneration at River Clyde Homes, who tal…

Expect tons of trivia as the boys work their way through all the hidden meanings and not so hidden racism in Jordan Peele’s modern classic Get Out. Find out what the alternative ending was, why some characters never show their hairline and the significance of pastries! Play along with the usual categories: Best scene, Worst scene, Favourite quotes,…

More than 18 months since we last spoke about environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting (ep 2), Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black reconvene with Link Group's finance director Nick Pollard to discuss how the parameters have changed during this time and how housing associations can benefit from adopting the Sustainability Reporting Standard f…

The boys ramp up to the Dundee Brew Fest, and the upcoming Krusty Brass Nipple Awards, with the final recommendations episode of the season. Get the last updates to your viewing list before the boys take a break for the summer. Ahead of our review of Get Out, the final movie of 16 to go forth to the awards episode, our Top 5 pays tribute to one of …

In the penultimate of the 16 movies to go forth to the Krusty Brass Nipple Awards, Kieran, Darren and Tarig review the Danish tragi-comedy Another Round. Find out the initial inspiration for the movie, what British band is connected to the director and whether Kieran and Tarig can sustain their performance while drinking. Play along with the usual …

Fresh from the Scottish Government's anti-poverty summit, Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson joins Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to share to what extent housing was mentioned during the event. The discussion also touches on Alison’s early career, Housing First, the Temporary Accommodation Task and Finish Group and finishes with a conversation…

There is alcohol abound as the boys chat holidays, gigs and put together their top 5 favourite drinking movies of all time.Before that, we round up our usual recommendations and avoids, catch up on social mediaand return to the question, has any comedy sequel been better than the original movie?In this episode we discuss…RecommendationsShimmer Lake…

As social housing organisations across the country navigate a host of issues from an inadequate number of affordable homes, a cost of living crisis and an ageing population, for those working and living in rural areas, these issues are compounded by a unique set of circumstances such as a lack of local services and an exodus of young families. Two …

An under-the-weather Kieran is dragged by Tarig and Darren to a busy pub for a deep dive into another listener's choice - this time The Green Mile. There is tons of Mr Jingles trivia and you'll also find out which actor played a priest in Sister Act 2 and Darren's 'blink and you’ll miss it' favourite minor character. Play along with the usual categ…

Following the appointment of a new minister for housing, we assembled a panel of former guests for a snap reaction. David Bookbinder, the director of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations and Jane Wood, the Homes for Scotland chief executive, join Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black to tell us what they think should be on Paul M…

Big news at Krusty HQ as we team up with the upcoming Dundee Brew Fest, set to return to the Bonar Hall on June 3rd. Andrew Sinclair joins the boys to make the announcement and contribute to Krusty’s top 5 favourite Tom Hanks movies of all time. Before that, Darren reports back after watching Kaleidoscope in a non-chronological order, Tarig catches…

It was back in December that the Scottish Government agreed to progress legislation proposed by Scottish Labour MSP Alex Rowley that will, they said, “introduce new minimum environmental design standards for all new-build housing to meet the Passivhaus standard, or a Scottish equivalent, in order to improve energy efficiency and thermal performance…

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 prompted efforts to provide homes for refugees. Even the…

We're firmly back on familiar ground with a review of the 1990 monster horror Tremors. G rejoins Kieran, Tarig and Darren for a deep dive into the cult classic as well as an impromptu six degrees of Kevin Bacon game and an introduction to ChatGPT. Play along with the usual categories: Best scene, Worst scene, Favourite quotes, What has aged the bes…

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 urban regeneration organisation which is leading …