The Scottish Housing Podcast

Ep12 - Paul McDermott - what is a property factor

If you or your family have lived in a tenement at any time in the West of Scotland you will have a pretty good idea about what a property factor is and what they do.  Elsewhere across Scotland it's likely that you'll know of the work of a factor if you live in modern flats or an estate of modern homes.  But for many a property factor may be a thing you've heard of but you're not really sure what it is - well we're here to explain.
 
Paul McDermott owns a property factor company and is a director of the trade body - The Property Manager's Association and he's on the podcast to explain all.

Ep 11 - Stuart Patrick of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce

Founded in 1783, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce is the oldest Chamber in the English speaking world with continuous records and has always been a driver of change and progress in the city.
 
Current CEO, Dr Stuart Patrick CBE, is a very vocal advovate and whilst his position is based upon what's best for his city, his comments will resonate among people across Scotland.
 
Recently Stuart has been making news in his comments about the recent Housing Bill and so we decided to have him as a guest on the podcast.
 
Hopefully you'll enjoy the chat between Brian, Steven and Stuart.

Ep10 - Ariane Burgess MSP, Housing Committee Convenor

This week Steven & Brian are joined by MSP Ariana Burgess, Convenor of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee.  
 
Ariane Burgess has been a Green MSP for Highlands and Islands since 2021 and author of Life Design for Women: Conscious Living as a Force for Positive Change.
 
Specifically, for the purposes of our podcast, we discuss her role as the convenor of the housing committee and what she sees as the role of the committee in shaping and interrogating government legislation.

Ep 9 - Professor Ken Gibb

This weeks guest is the highly respected Professor Ken Gibb, Professor in the School of Social and Political Sciences in the subject area of Urban Studies at Glasgow University. He is also Director of the ⁠UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence⁠ (CaCHE) funded by ESRC, AHRC and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and established in 2017.
 
He has carried out research for government departments, ESRC, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, trade bodies, the private sector and international organisations like OECD, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the European Union. Recent research, including projects for the Scottish Funding Council and for the EPSRC, have shifted into the economics and evaluation of net zero and lower carbon retrofit of existing housing.

Ep8 Housing Minister Paul McLennan MSP

This week, Steven and Brian are joined by The Housing Minister - Paul McLennan MSP.
 
Paul is an SNP MSP representing East Lothian since 2021 and prior to this was a councillor for many years for Dunbar and East Linton.
 
We discuss with him whether this long period in local government was a help in preparing him for life as an MSP and a Minister and he provides us with an exhaustive list of issues that he has to cover within the housing brief.
 
An excellent chat and we'll no doubt get him on again to discuss the various announcements that he trails in the podcast.
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Ep 7 - The Housing Crisis - What does it mean

The Scottish government has called a housing emergency.  Brian & Steven discuss what might have been the reasons for calling the emergency and what steps might they take next.

Ep 6 Miles Briggs

This week Conservative Housing spokesman Miles Briggs joins the podcast and discusses the housing cap and the steps he believes are necessary to combat the housing crisis.

EP 5 - John Blackwood of The Scottish Association of Landlords

The Scottish Association of Landlords is the largest and only dedicated national organisation that represents landlords and letting agents throughout Scotland. 
John Blackwood is the Chief Executive and joins the podcast to discuss rent controls, the challenges of being a landlord in the current climate and the benefits of joining and organisation like SAL.