By planning ahead and supporting people earlier, we can help prevent housing crises and create a system that works for communities at every stage of life. 🌱
Read the full manifesto ➡️ shorturl.at/rgf0A
That means stronger partnership working, greater investment in prevention and a focus on wellbeing so people can access the right home at the right time.
Adaptations should not be ‘nice to have’ or based on funding availability; they are essential to support people to live well at home.
As part of our spotlight on the five key priorities in CIH Scotland’s manifesto, today we’re focusing on the second ask:
▶️ Meeting changing needs
People’s housing needs change throughout their lives, and our housing system must be able to adapt. 🏘️
At last week’s Scotland’s Housing Festival, our policy manager Ashley Campbell explored what the new housing agency, More Homes Scotland, could mean for delivering more affordable homes across the country.
Read the blog ➡️ shorturl.at/TKAzW
Read our manifesto ➡️ shorturl.at/SghJD
Our latest research shows 15,693 social and mid-market rent homes must be delivered every year until 2031 to meet housing need. The next Scottish government must set out how this need will be met and commit to a level of grant funding that will maintain affordability.
🗣️This week we’re spotlighting the 5 key priorities in CIH Scotland’s manifesto – shaped by our members. Together, they set out what the next Scottish government must deliver to tackle the housing emergency and put housing back on a firm footing for the future.
🏡 First up: Affordable homes
With just two months until Scotland’s Parliamentary election, now is the time to focus on housing. 🗳️🏡
Over the coming days, we’ll be spotlighting each of the five priorities from our manifesto and what they mean for housing across Scotland.💡
Join the conversation next week. 👀🗓️
Stirling Uni's Vikki McCall speaks about the need to build reflective practices into the housing profession, pointing out that it's not as integrated as it is in other sectors. "How do you look after others if you’re not looking after yourself at the same time?" she says.
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
Lively discussion on the big housing issues in Scotland ahead of the upcoming election at #ScotlandsHousingFestival
@shelterscotland.bsky.social director Alison Watson: "The housing emergency is still here and it continues to get worse...We have built a system that costs a fortune but which fails people every day."
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
Mairi McAllan on whether Housing to 2040 is still relevant: "After a period of remarkable difficulty and uncertainty...the principles of Housing to 2040 remain relevant...The foundations that guide our work remain very pertinent to the challenges we’re facing now."
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
Haydon: "We need to enable housing professionals and leaders to embed resilience in boardrooms, in teams and in services."
CIH president Julie Haydon: "Housing’s strength doesn’t come from bricks and mortar — it comes from people." She adds: "Housing is not just infrastructure, it is resilience — and resilience sustains people."
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
Kerr says Reform will prioritise local people for housing over "strangers". He adds that the asylum system is "putting strain" on local people, landlords and the city [Glasgow].
Rennie: "I am sick and fed up of people coming to see me who are desperate for a home." He adds: "[The] sector is hungry, despite all the challenges, to build good quality homes with good insulation standards, to provide good homes for people who need them."
Griffin highlights the more than 10,000 children currently living in temporary accommodation in Scotland. "Unless we build significantly more homes, those children will remain trapped in that system," he says.
McAllan says housing will be "central" to the election, and an urgent matter of great priority. "Housing is both a major social intervention where a warm, secure and affordable is the foundation of a good life… it is also a key economic policy" she says.
Day 2 of #ScotlandsHousingFestival kicks off with a hustings debate on housing and the upcoming election — featuring the cabinet secretary, Mairi McAllan, Scottish Labour's Mark Griffin, Scottish Liberal Democrats' Willie Rennie and Reform UK Scotland's Thomas Kerr.
Hanover CEO Angela Currie pointed out the 38% increase in those aged over in Scotland over the past 20 years, while there is predicted to be a "massive increase" in those aged over 75. "The need for good quality accessible housing has never been more important," she said.
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
@ashleycihcm.bsky.social hosts a lively discussion on More Homes Scotland, the new housing agency announced by the government at the start of the year. "We need to make clear to government now what we want from that agency," she says.
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
"Ashamed and mortified"
Gail Porter opens up about her experience of homelessness and the importance of caring for people — especially at a time of rising homelessness and suicide rates.
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
Aico's Russell Virtue and Falkirk Council's Murray Sharp discuss some of the new regulatory requirements coming in, such as Awaab's Law, and whether the sector is subject to too much regulation or whether it needs to go further.
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
Professor Duncan Maclennan, emeritus professor in urban economics, University of Glasgow, says that, while housing secretary Màiri McAllan has done "a formidable job" at raising the housing budget, she has likely reached the limit of getting more money for the sector.
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
"For refugees, housing isn’t just a roof: it is the first step to belonging
"Refugees aren't the cause of the housing crisis...they’re simply the people who feel the symptoms first"
Powerful insights from @scotrefugeecouncil.bsky.social CEO Sabir Zazai.
#ScotlandsHousingFestival
"You and your front-facing colleagues are a vital part of addressing our housing emergency" — CIH Scotland national director Gillian McLees opens #ScotlandsHousingFestival 2026
📢 Research report launched today at Scotland’s Housing Festival 📢
Through conversations with practitioners and tenants, it explores professional development, leadership how to build a valued workforce in the social housing sector.
Read our take ➡️ buff.ly/TSriZt4
Read the report ➡️ buff.ly/UmffYZk
If you're at Scotland's Housing Festival in Glasgow this week and have some time between sessions, stop by the CIH Scotland stand to meet the team and join one of our drop-ins 👇
Lorna will also be at the CIH stand at Scotland’s Housing Festival on 4 March; stop by from 13:00 to have a chat about leadership and the future of housing. You can also join Lorna for a session on Leadership and Culture at the Fringe Theatre in the exhibition hall at 13:45:
▶️ buff.ly/ZFysfG8
Read this inspirational new blog from Lorna Wilson, chief executive at Barrhead Housing, on how being a leader is more than just people management and more about people improvement:
buff.ly/0WbxzWC
