12) Thank you to Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Shelter Scotland and CIH Scotland for commissioning the research. And thanks to my co-authors - Craig Watkins, Berna Keskin, Richard Dunning, Ed Ferrari and @kengibb.bsky.social. @housingevidence.bsky.social. End.

11) The reason for the difference in the budgetary figures is purely down to differences in the number of homes. Our research suggests 9,000 homes annually will be not be sufficient to meet affordable housing need, even at the lowest range of our estimates.

10) Yet the Government's funding commitment is £415mn short of our annual budget. On a per home basis, the Government's commitment is similar (if not more generous) than ours. So there's agreement that grant rates need to increase following a recent dip in delivery.

Tackling Scotland's Housing Emergency Building on the significant progress made to date, the Housing Emergency Action Plan sets out new, enhanced and accelerated actions - reflecting our determination to go further and faster in our commi...

9) Recently the Scottish Government announced an investment of £4.9bn over four years to deliver 36,000 affordable homes. Increased investment is of course welcome and a step in right direction. www.gov.scot/publications...

8) The figures for need underline the urgent investment required in social housing supply in Scotland. Based upon the existing affordable housing benchmarks in Scotland, uprated for plausible inflationary scenarios, we estimate the 5-year budget needs to be between £8-9.2bn.

7) There has been a decline in annual lettings within the social sector in recent years, affecting the sector's capacity to meet need through turnover in existing stock. But this is primarily due to fewer homes becoming vacant annually, not longer void periods.

6) The geography of need is stark. In absolute terms, over 50% of affordable housing need is in the Eastern Scotland region. When measured as housing need per 1,000 households, Highlands and Islands has the second highest need.

5) Affordability will also affect newly forming households over the next parliamentary term. We estimate that 55% of newly formed households will be unable to afford market housing. And this pressure will be felt unevenly due to regional variation in affordability.

4) There has also been an increase in households in the private sector living with disrepair and in homes unsuitable for their health needs. Plus, 36.5% of these households are in affordability stress following the cost of living crisis and rental inflation.

3) Rising homelessness is a key driver of need. The number of open homelessness cases has risen by 45.5% relative to previous research conducted in 2020. As this graph shows, this has been associated with a dramatic increase in households in temporary accommodation.

2) Headline findings:
🏠 15,693 affordable homes required annually
🏠 £1.64bn required annually to fund the programme
🏠 The requirement could vary between 11,254 and 19,493 homes annually depending upon demographic trends and market conditions

1) The Affordable Housing Need in Scotland Post-2026 report is now published. The report quantifies the number of affordable homes required in Scotland to meet need between 2026-31. 🧵

downloads.ctfassets.net/6sqqfrl11sfj...

Affordable Housing Need in Scotland Post-2026 – executive summary This executive summary highlights the findings from research on projected affordable housing need in Scotland for the next Scottish Parliament 2026-31. The full report will follow later this month.

The Executive Summary of CaCHE research into affordable housing need in Scotland is now available on the CIH Scotland website. The research found that 15,693 affordable homes are required annually to meet need. Full report due on 23 September.

www.cih.org/publications...

You can read more coverage of the research on the BBC website:

▶️ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

More than 15,000 new homes per year required to tackle Scotland’s housing emergency, report finds The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has called for long-term funding for the housing budget after new research revealed Scotland needs to build over 15,000 homes per year to meet housing need.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has called for long-term funding for the housing budget after new research revealed Scotland needs to build over 15,000 homes per year to meet housing need.

Affordable Housing Need in Scotland Post-2026 – executive summary This executive summary highlights the findings from research on projected affordable housing need in Scotland for the next Scottish Parliament 2026-31. The full report will follow later this month.

Read the executive summary of Affordable Housing Need in Scotland Post-2026 research, jointly commissioned by Shelter Scotland, CIH Scotland & SFHA & carried out by the University of Liverpool & Sheffield Hallam University. The full report will be published later this month.

▶️ shorturl.at/ryoeO

The report is available on the @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social repository of housing research!

www.thinkhouse.org.uk/site/assets/...

Latest housing research: decarbonisation is an opportunity to transform relationships with residents A new report suggests solutions to customers refusing access for decarbonisation works. Richard Hyde, chair of the Thinkhouse Editorial Panel, goes through the details.

Great to see our report on decarbonising social housing at scale featured in Inside Housing's review of recent research. Thanks to Richard Hyde for his engagement with the work.

www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/late...

I agree. It's not as much the decline in the physical existence of spaces or the existence of institutions - unions still exist obviously. It's more the decline in participation and engagement - driven by big social, economic and demographic trends - and poor substitutes, some of which are online.

Admittedly this is based only on my anecdotal reading of the situation - my grandparents were members of all of the above, I'm a member of none. So I'd be interested to see more research/data on it. But in any case I don't think either pubs or cafes are the main story here.

I think a decline in civil society spaces has contributed. Lost opportunities for building of social capital, trust in institutions, and sense of control over change. But I think the report is focusing on wrong spaces/institutions. I'd look more at unions, churches, co-ops, working clubs etc.

About three months until the deadline for the @thinkhouseinfo.bsky.social early career researcher's prize - see what winning in 2024 has meant to @michael-s-marshall.bsky.social and get thinking about submitting by checking out the details here www.thinkhouse.org.uk/about/early-...

We mapped 18,000 children’s playgrounds and revealed inequality across England Our maps show some kids have nearer, bigger playgrounds than others.

Our article in @uk.theconversation.com reveals substantial #play inequalities across #England

Paul Brindley & I looked at England’s largest settlements & mapped patterns from +18,000 #playgrounds within them

Serious #socialjustice issues for #children exist!!

theconversation.com/we-mapped-18...

Comment by Italia90: So... to clarify, if your neighbour wants to strap a droning fan unit to the brickwork right next to your bedroom window there's nothing you can do about it? And this is a good thing? 1013 likes

Actually Italia90, to clarify... no.

Heat pumps still have to pass a noise test (called MCS 020) which ensures they do not make a sound above 37 decibels at the nearest neighbouring window.
That's quieter than a library, apparently.

10) Recommendations
- expanded funding for WH:SHF and Strategic Partnerships
- government support needed for retrofit supply chain in rural areas
- engage customers early and provide consistent communications
- social landlords establish forums for customers to inform decision-making. End

9) This was a key theme running through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Uni of Huddersfield and Together Housing, which is highlighted in the report. In short, reducing refusals shouldn't focus solely on customer behaviour, it requires internal organisational change.

8) Decarbonisation also needs a more engaged relationship with customers to build trust. Examples:
- longer lead up to retrofit
- segmenting customers to understand specific needs
- using smart thermostats to evaluate benefits
- establishing Resident Groups to oversee retrofit

7) To transform their relationship to homes, some landlords are exploring means of turning decarbonisation into a revenue stream e.g. heat-as-a-service, monetizing solar PV. They're also using procurement consortia to deliver VFM. And taking a 'whole-home' approach to planned maintenance.

6) Decarbonisation has to be seen as an opportunity to transform the relationship between social landlords and a) their homes and b) their customers.