Latest news with #InCommon
The National
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Four ways Mairi McAllan can fix Scotland's housing crisis
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Dr Craig Dalzell, head of policy and research at Common Weal. Màiri McAllan has returned to the Scottish Government after a well-deserved period of patient parental leave, though has left her former post as Cabinet Secretary for Energy and has been tasked with fixing Scotland's housing crisis. As a writer of policies on both topics I don't exactly envy the position but I can at least lay out some of the options I and my colleagues in Common Weal have published over the years on the topic. Housing is about more than homes – as anyone can attest if they have ever objected to a planning application for a new suburban sprawl on the basis that it would add extra pressure to services such as GPs, schools and other public services without adding to provision – but about building a sense of place, of community and about meeting a fundamental human need for shelter. The task is far larger than I can do justice in these few lines of text but I shall offer Màiri (below) four ideas to help fix housing in Scotland. Actual land reform You cannot build a home without having the land to build on it. This is a particularly acute problem in rural Scotland where despite having the space to build we often cannot access the land due to it being held by mega-estates and is simply not for sale or when it is, the price to buy is being speculated beyond control. We need a land tax and other mechanisms like Mercedes Villalba's proposal to cap maximum land ownership. One of the most powerful ideas though would be to allow councils to buy land at 'existing use value'. That is the value of land as it currently is, not an inflated value based on its 'potential' for housing or other uses. Build 'enough' social housing The central reason why Britain's housing 'market' is broken is because we run housing as a market. Thatcher broke the previous system by selling off social housing and making it impossible for councils to replace them. Social housing should never be the last option before homelessness but the first choice for housing for many. My paper Good Houses for All shows how the borrowing powers of councils and the Scottish National Investment Bank could build essentially unlimited homes for social rent (councils aren't limited in borrowing powers like Holyrood is, so long as the rents are sufficient to pay back the loan). They could be built to the highest possible energy standards to outbid the private sector in both price and quality. And they shouldn't be built to an arbitrary target of 'more houses than the previous government' but based on actual need. Councils should have a waiting list of people who want one of these homes and be resourced to deliver them by a certain date. If we do this, the private sector will be forced to cut rents and increase quality ... or their landlords will decide that they can no longer exploit people for a profit and will have to sell. (Image: Supplied) Fill vacant housing 'But what happens to the houses if the landlords sell?' Scotland already has more vacant homes than we have homeless households. Many of those homes are not being sold, but are still being clung on to as a speculative investment because prices are rising higher than costs. We also have even more vacant housing than appears in those statistics because many high street shops in Scotland have housing units above them that are vacant but are classified as 'commercial use' rather than residential. Look above the ground floor in many places in the centre of Glasgow and you'll start to see them. Policies like increasing council tax multipliers on empty homes and Màiri's announcement this week of extra vacant housing officers will go a long way towards fixing this. Councils should also be resourced to allow them to use their compulsory purchase powers more aggressively – particularly to support them to purchase vacant homes not at 'market rate' but at a fair rate that will include consideration of the costs to repair and retrofit the housing up to the standards expected of newbuilds – this will often be far cheaper than building new and therefore will contribute to the solution to the crisis in a much more resource efficient way. READ MORE: 'Trading people like cargo' UK-France one in, one out deal sparks fury Increase rental building standards For the housing that remains in private rental hands, we need to continue the work already being done around tenants' rights, rent controls and quality standards. As hinted above, many private rented houses in Scotland fall far short of energy efficiency and other environmental standards and urgently need retrofitted. France is rolling out a scheme whereby it will be illegal to rent properties that fall below a certain EPC rating and the minimum rating will keep rising every few years. Scotland should do the same. Before those retrofits happen, many of these properties also need to be repaired first (there's little point in installing solar panels on a leaking roof). The aggressive recapture of housing for social rent mentioned above could also be done with private rented homes that still have sitting tenants if the landlord wishes to sell or is deemed no longer adequately responsible in their management of housing, converting them to social rents and offering a rent-controlled lifetime tenancy to the tenant along with an improving their homes. Conclusion The housing emergency in Scotland is perhaps second only to the climate emergency that Màiri was familiar with in her previous brief. The two are, in fact, interrelated and can't be solved separately. What won't solve it is shovelling more money into the paws of private developers under the guise of 'affordable housing' that is barely either. It's not going to solved by a single tweak anywhere or even if we only do everything on this list but every step we take will lead to more people living more affordably and more securely in a country that can more than afford to provide that, but for too long hasn't by design.
The National
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Universal Basic Income in Scotland can draw from our neighbours
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Dr Craig Dalzell, head of policy and research at Common Weal. BACK in the early days of Common Weal, while we were still finding our feet and building our reputation, we had an informal rule when it came to policy-making. We had to be able to show the policy working somewhere else. This was because we felt that Scotland simply wasn't ready for some of the radical ideas that we wanted to implement so being able to show it already working was a good way of building confidence in a nation too often told 'we cannae dae it' (by which our opponents often mean 'we shouldnae dae it' which is a different thing entirely). We've since dispensed with that rule and we sometimes broke it even then (one of Common Weal's very first policy papers, 'In Place Of Anxiety', was an advocacy for Universal Basic Income (UBI) long before it became one of the 'cool' policies) but this isn't to say that we can't learn lessons from elsewhere. Just this week, I was asked by a researcher which of our neighbour nations I'd like Scotland to copy if I could. My answer was that we shouldn't copy any one but that I take a lot of inspiration from Germany on local democracy, from Denmark on energy strategy and from Norway for public ownership. Somewhere else we could do with taking inspiration from our neighbours is on social security. The scenes this week from the UK's attempts to hammer the poor and disabled and only backing down after shambolic chaos in the Parliament should be a lesson not just in humanity but in policy-making as well. Never fight a battle you haven't won in advance. Never assume a large on-paper majority means certain absolute power. With many of our neighbours basing their politics on proportional representation and coalition politics, this kind of legislation would have undergone a lot of negotiation and compromise long before arriving at the voting chamber. The way that many of our neighbours deal with the issue of social security is markedly different from the UK in several ways. The first is that the systems are a lot more generous in general. Norway, Denmark and Sweden rank in the top three OECD nations for spending on disability protections at above 3% of GDP while the UK is well below the OECD average at less than 2%. Many more social securities like unemployment protections follow a different model from the UK when they are calculated. In particular, instead of the flat rate paid under the UK's Universal Credit, many countries follow a model where the protection you receive is based on a percentage of your previous income. There are consequences to each of these models. A flat rate tends to be more redistributive if it is generous enough (which Universal Credit isn't) whereas a proportional rate tends to be less disruptive to an individual who is already going through the shock of losing their job while still having bills to pay. We've seen these impacts in the UK too. During the pandemic, the Covid furlough scheme was paid at a proportional rate to people who were employed but was often paid at a flat Universal Credit rate to self-employed people. This exposed a lot of people who were previously on the side of denigrating poor and vulnerable people as lazy slackers to just how meagre and cruel the UK 'benefits' system is. We had an opportunity then to get some serious change off the back of that and maybe we still see echoes of it in this week's chaos but largely the Powers That Be wanted to make us forget that moment of reflection as quickly as possible. On the other side and as tempting as it might be to copy a European-style unemployment insurance based on previous income, and as beneficial that would be to people in well-paid but otherwise insecure jobs, we have to remember that many people are not in well-paid jobs and that wage suppression has been rife in the UK for decades. Receiving 60% of your previous income when you were being paid poverty wages won't protect you from poverty in unemployment. So maybe rather than Scotland – particularly an independent Scotland – copying existing social security policies from our neighbours, we need to look to them for inspiration in another way and look back at that paper I mentioned at the start of this column. (Image: PA) Last year, the EU think tank the Coppieters Foundation published a paper called 'A European Universal Basic Income' which found that a UBI sufficient to eradicate poverty across the entire union could be entirely paid for by relatively modest changes to income tax and the savings found from the reduction of poverty itself. Its model called for a UBI of €6857 per year for adults and half that for children under 14. This is the equivalent of £113 per week for adults and £57 per week for children. The paper claimed that the increase in income taxes to pay for this level of UBI would themselves be relatively modest and the 'breakeven' point for people who'd pay more income tax than they'd receive in UBI would be at around the 80th percentile. In other words, eight out of 10 people would be directly better off with the UBI. And, to repeat, while this is still a relatively small sum per person if you have no other income, it would be enough to eradicate poverty across the entire EU and would be cheaper overall – after the health, crime and social inequality costs of poverty are factored in – than the current systems. When this paper came out I argued that this meant a UBI was now a moral imperative because it was cheaper than the cost of poverty, but there's clearly a financial imperative too. Whether we're discussing an independent Scotland seeking to create a better country for all of us or even just a cynical UK trying to save money in the face of a humiliating attempt to crush the poor, here is a solution we should all support. Eradicate poverty, save money, implement a Universal Basic Income.
The National
26-06-2025
- General
- The National
RTS switch-off in July will put vulnerable Scots at risk
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Dr Ron Mould, net carbon manager at Bield Housing. AFTER 14 years of missed deadlines and shifting timetables, we've now entered the final month before the nationwide switch-off of the radio tele-switch (RTS) signal and the reality is looking increasingly grim. With tens of thousands of homes still awaiting smart meter installation, we are now in a desperate scramble to avoid a full-blown crisis. This is no small problem. An estimated 30% of the UK's remaining RTS meters are in Scotland, disproportionately affecting rural, elderly, and vulnerable households. The consequences of failure are significant and at this late stage, feel inevitable. As Net Carbon Manager at Bield, a housing provider supporting older people across Scotland, I've seen first-hand how badly this transition has been handled. Our tenants are among those directly affected, people who rely on electric storage heating and trusted the RTS system to manage their energy needs affordably and safely. Many are now facing anxiety, confusion and rising costs, with little to no support from the systems meant to protect them. Across the country, residents reliant on RTS for their heating are experiencing a barrage of issues, repeatedly aborted meter installations, often with no communication or learning applied to subsequent attempts. READ MORE: 'Deep concerns' over lack of urgency to replace soon to be switched off meters Some can't even get appointments, with suppliers routinely stating there are 'no engineers available in your area.' Even when installations do go ahead, the problems don't stop. New meters can trip electrics, prompting a game of finger-pointing between energy suppliers and electricians. More commonly, the issue lies in the specification of the new meters themselves. Despite supplier claims of a like-for-like swap, many smart meters provide a continuous 24-hour supply, in contrast to the timed circuits of RTS systems. Without integrated timers for heaters and hot water (previously controlled by the RTS signal) householders are left with systems that run around the clock, racking up unnecessary costs. Timers, if installed at all, often don't align with off-peak periods, which themselves have been allowed to erode, some tariffs now offer just a 1p difference between peak and off-peak. The BBC's longwave broadcasting equipment, which transmits the RTS signal, has genuinely reached the end of its life. But while the technology may be out of date, the strategy to replace it is even worse. Ofgem has not delivered a clearly communicated, nationally coordinated plan. Instead of a well-managed transition, we've had vague reassurances and rumours of a phased switch-off—starting with regions that have the fewest RTS meters remaining. READ MORE: 'Strength has emerged': Ex-Iran prisoner looks back on life in notorious jail Ofgem's own position is not especially reassuring: they admit they 'don't know what will happen.' Whether we experience a complete signal loss or a cascading failure across zones, one thing is certain- there will be no further UK-wide delays. Even a phased switch-off is expected to take place over just a few months, with no guarantee of any extension for Scotland. This is the sort of groundwork that should have been laid months ago, not weeks before the switch-off. Ad campaigns fronted by Lorraine Kelly have only recently hit the airwaves- despite repeated warnings that the RTS switch-off would create confusion and difficulty if not properly addressed early on. These last-minute efforts, while welcome, reflect a broader lack of long-term planning. At Bield, we're doing all we can to support our tenants — helping them navigate bookings, installations, and even explaining why their heating now works differently. But the scale of the issue is bigger than any one organisation can solve alone. We're seeing the real-world consequences for those left in limbo by unclear processes and mixed messaging. For those with electric heating, I urge you to contact your energy supplier immediately and request a smart meter. If you've already had a failed visit, rebook — and keep rebooking until the job is done. If you already have a smart meter, check that your hot water and heating systems have timers. Confirm they match your tariff's off-peak hours. If they don't, you'll need to adjust or retrofit them—otherwise, the promised cost savings will be lost. The RTS switch-off is no longer a future event — it's here. The headlines this July are, sadly, predictable. A lack of coordination, planning, and urgency from energy suppliers and regulators alike has led us to the brink of a national energy blunder. And as someone working closely with the people now facing the fallout, I can say this with confidence: Scotland deserves better.
The National
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Scotland can lead the world with 'ecocide' bill currently in Holyrood
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Michaela Girvan and Tara Pierce of the Ocean Rights Coalition. IMAGINE the scene: a CEO sits handcuffed, silent, in the dock of a Scottish courtroom. He is not there because of a shareholder scandal or financial fraud but because the company he leads has caused widespread, long-term destruction of the marine environment through illegal bottom trawling in Scottish waters. Expert witnesses describe the devastation. Once-thriving seabeds flattened. Biodiversity lost. Species pushed to collapse. Carbon stores released from the seafloor, worsening climate change, communities along the coast left with the wreckage and coastal artisan fishermen struggling. The courtroom listens, and the law now recognises this harm for what it truly is – not an unfortunate side effect of business but a crime against nature. That scene may feel like fiction. However, it is exactly the kind of accountability the Ecocide (Prevention) (Scotland) Bill currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament could make real. If passed, Scotland would become the first country in the world to criminalise ecocide in domestic law – a powerful and necessary step at a time of ecological crisis. The bill, brought forward by Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon (above), defines ecocide as the causing of severe environmental harm, whether intentional or through reckless disregard. The harm must be either widespread or long-term – measured not in headlines, but in habitats, ecosystems and years. If passed, the law would make individuals, companies and public bodies liable for the most serious kinds of environmental destruction. Punishments include up to 20 years in prison, fines and court-ordered restoration of the damaged ecosystems. Importantly, it introduces personal liability for directors and decision-makers. In a world where corporate impunity too often shields those at the top, this matters. What sets this legislation apart is not only its ambition but its timing. Just last week, world leaders gathered in Nice for the third United Nations Ocean Conference. Once again, they committed to reversing marine biodiversity loss and protecting 30% of the world's oceans by 2030. The pledges are noble. But if we are honest, global action has repeatedly failed to match the scale or speed of the crisis. Here in Scotland, we have a rare opportunity to do something the international system has so far failed to do: make marine destruction legally actionable as a criminal crime. From deep-sea mining and industrial overfishing to oil spills, chemical dumping and plastic pollution, Scotland's marine environment is facing an onslaught of threats. Some of these are caused by foreign actors; others are permitted under existing UK or devolved policy. Either way, the law has not kept up with science, morality or the pace of destruction. That is why this bill matters so deeply to those of us working in ocean protection. It acknowledges that the sea is not an industrial buffer zone or economic abstraction. It is a living system on which we all depend. Its kelp forests and corals store carbon. Its species form fragile food webs. Its health is climate health, biodiversity health and human health. The bill does not mention the ocean by name, but its scope is broad enough to include it and serious marine harm. In doing so, it brings new hope to those who have campaigned for decades for stronger protections for the sea. It gives voice to communities who have watched polluters act with impunity. It sets a legal precedent that others can follow. Scotland is no stranger to progressive leadership. From banning smoking in public spaces to providing free period products, it has shown the courage to legislate ahead of the curve. With this bill, it can again lead – not just the UK, but the world – on environmental justice. There will be attempts to dilute this legislation as it moves through Parliament. Some will argue the definitions are too broad. Others will raise fears about economic impact. The truth is this: the cost of doing nothing is far greater. The science is clear, the damage is real and the legal gap is glaring. We must not allow this bill to be watered down into symbolism. It must retain the strength to do what it promises: hold powerful actors to account for the destruction of the natural world. This is not about stifling enterprise. It is about drawing a line. About saying, as a country, that we will no longer tolerate the wilful wrecking of our wild ecosystems that sustain life. The Ocean Rights Coalition is calling on MSPs to support this bill with integrity and urgency. We are asking members of the public to do the same. If you care about the future of our seas – about their resilience, their beauty and their survival – now is the time to act. Email your MSP. Tell them you support the Ecocide (Prevention) (Scotland) Bill. Tell them not to weaken it and to keep the lion's teeth, and remind them that Scotland has a chance, right now, to lead the world and make history. To make sure the Scotland their grandchildren will inherent is protected. The ocean is rising. It's time Scots law rose with it.
The National
12-06-2025
- General
- The National
Almost half of Scottish homes suffer disrepair. We can change that
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Dr Keith Baker, a research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University, and Magdalena Blazusiak MCIAT, vice chair of the Scottish Ecological Design Association. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week click here. IF you've ever had an Energy Performance Certificate assessment for your home, you'll probably be aware that the recommendations they make are often not ideal for your property, lifestyle, or budget. Common Weal has long argued that EPCs are in need of substantial reforms, and the Scottish Government has now recognised this problem and has been developing new legislation to amend EPCs and ensure properties are properly assessed before householders invest in upgrading them. The EPC reforms will be announced at the end of this summer and, crucially, will include rewording 'recommendations' to 'potential improvement measures'. We're contributing to this process as members of the short life working group established to oversee them. However, behind the scenes we've been working on a project intended to ensure that householders in Scotland get the best possible advice and support for retrofitting their homes. The result is the proposed Home Energy Efficiency Technical Suitability Assessment (HEETSA), which is now out for public consultation. HEETSA was one of those projects which substantially outgrew its original scope, thanks to an unexpectedly high level of input from our stakeholders. Using a survey and a series of workshops, we solicited evidence from well over one hundred organisations and companies, covering assessment methodologies, skills and qualifications, market readiness, and much more. We began with an aim of producing a 20-page summary report and ended up producing a policy report and a technical report, each running to over 50 pages, and subjected them to several rounds of scrutiny by our peer reviewers. It went well over time and over budget, but we believe what we've arrived at is authoritative and definitive. HEETSA is based on a number of fundamental principles. By adopting a 'maintenance-first' approach it will ensure we fix buildings first, recognising that as of 2023, a whopping 45% of Scottish properties were still suffering disrepair to one or more critical elements, such as roofs and external walls. And fixing properties first means that householders will be able to reap the full benefits of adding energy efficiency measures and renewable energy technologies. Maintenance has long been a blind spot in policy, and its lack of consideration under the Heat in Buildings Bill fundamentally undermined that legislation, so this is a long overdue reset. READ MORE: How did Scotland become more expensive than pricy Norway? Furthermore, the principle of 'no regrets' – ensuring that the measures householders are advised to install are appropriate for their properties and lifestyles, and that will not need to be removed or replaced as part of future upgrades – is something Common Weal has long argued for. For example, say your property has cavity walls. A basic EPC assessment will usually assume the presence and condition of cavity wall insulation based on the property's type and age, or rely on a quick visual check. But not all cavities should be filled, and basic assessments often miss cases where filler has settled or been damaged by moisture, meaning adding additional wall insulation can create new, costly, problems. HEETSA is intended to fix this sort of problem. HEETSA won't replace EPCs. You'll still need one as part of selling or renting out a property as energy efficiency ratings are required by law. However, you'll now be encouraged to take up a HEETSA assessment, which will include a more detailed assessment of your condition of a property by a suitably trained professional, and an interview to better understand their individual circumstances and needs. READ MORE: Planning system 'failing' to tackle Scotland's housing emergency To facilitate this, we have proposed that a HEESTA retrofit process requires a number of roles, including an assessor, an advocate, and a project manager. Although some householders will need more help than others, and some may be able to manage their own projects. At first, only the role of the assessor will be regulated but, ultimately, we will need to extend that regulation – particularly to energy efficiency advisors. We won't get there overnight. We're up against a skills gap and a lack of trust in experts and advice from years of schemes that have often, at best, failed to deliver, and scandals over things such as spray foam and cladding. But HEESTA has been designed to address the problems of the past, and to help make careers in retrofit attractive both to young people and adults. Our proposals put skills and rebuilding trust at the heart of HEETSA, and set out how community groups and local installers can be part of and benefit from the process without overburdening them. There's still some fine-tuning left to be done, and we still have to get the legislation passed at Holyrood, and we need help with this. So please consider responding to the consultation, and please ask your MSPs to support the legislation. Dr Keith Baker FRSA is a research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University and a director and convenor of the Energy Working Group at Common Weal. Magdalena Blazusiak MCIAT is a Chartered Architectural Technologist, vice chair of the Scottish Ecological Design Association, and a lecturer and PhD candidate at Robert Gordon University.
