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Glasgow Times
10-07-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow woman wins first Irene Robertson housing fund
Tia Coutts, 22, from Barrowfield, has been awarded the Irene Robertson Qualification Fund from West of Scotland Housing Association (WSHA). The fund was established in memory of Irene Robertson, a long-serving WSHA colleague who died in October 2024. It supports one young person each year to begin a career in housing by combining academic qualifications with practical work experience. Read more: Glen Michael dies aged 99 as tributes paid to Scots TV legend Tia, a member of a WSHA household in Barrowfield, will complete a fully-funded Introduction to Housing qualification through the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) between June and October this year. She said: "The Irene Robertson fund is a great opportunity for me. "I was brought up in social housing so I know what a difference getting a social home can make to people. "You are part of a community and your neighbours are like family; we are always helping each other out. "I really enjoy helping people and that's what drew me towards housing as a career." Alongside her studies, Tia will complete a 16-week placement at WSHA's head office in Barrowfield. She will be mentored by housing officer Suzanne Quigley, who has worked at WSHA for more than 20 years. Ms Quigley said: "The Irene Robertson fund is an excellent entry to working in housing and we're delighted to have Tia as our first trainee. "Tia is very motivated and already showing great understanding of what we do here at WSHA. "Over the next few months she'll be gaining a huge amount of knowledge and experience between her studies and the practical experience gained during her placement. "All I can say is that she should immerse herself in all of it." She also offered advice for people looking to step into a career in the housing sector Ms Quigley said: "Housing has a great range of opportunities, but there isn't always a clear route into the sector. "Taking on a temporary role or apprenticeship is a good first step, and then there are also many levels of housing qualification for those who wish to get more involved too." The CIH's current campaign, Choose Housing, offers resources and advice to raise awareness of careers in the housing sector. Callum Chomczuk, national director for Scotland at the CIH, said: "The Irene Robertson Qualification Fund is a brilliant initiative. "It pays tribute to a dedicated housing professional who was committed to lifelong learning and it provides a great opportunity for a young person to make their mark in housing."
The Herald Scotland
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
ScotGov-backed affordable home starts slump to lowest level in 12 years
It is 8105 fewer than the number started in 2019/20 before the pandemic and the lowest since 2012/13 when there were 4685 starts. It is the lowest number of starts since 2012/13 when 4685 affordable homes were begun and had come in the wake of huge cuts to Scottish Government budget for affordable homes. Affordable home completions dropped by 22% in a year to 7,444 in 2024/25. That is the lowest number since 2015/16 when 6445 were completed. It comes as the Scottish Government is seeking to deliver 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70% were to be for social rent and 10% for rural and island communities. As of March, 31, this year some 28,537 affordable homes have been completed towards the target. The Herald revealed in 2023 how professional standards body CIH had raised concerns over cuts to the budget and warned progress on homelessness is at risk without a funding commitment over rapid rehousing in permanent homes rather than in temporary accommodation. In the wake of the Scottish Government making a symbolic housing emergency declaration in mid-May, last year the key housing professionals group had said that while it is a start, it was not enough as the affordable homes budget, a key part of the Scottish Government bid to end the crisis lost more than £300m over the previous two years alone. The Herald's charter for change in a housing and homelessness emergency (Image: Housing campaign) But in December, John Swinney has reversed a near £200m annual cut to the provision of affordable homes although campaigners said it still fell short of what is needed to end the housing and homelessness crisis. The Herald's seven-point charter for change to help end Scotland's housing emergency launched in July, last year, included a call to cut the number of children living in temporary accommodation and a significant increase in the building of affordable homes. The Scottish Tenants Organisation said the drops in affordable housing starts were "a disaster" with thousands on the housing waiting lists in Scotland and thousands more homeless and struggling to survive. "The Scottish Government have got to make affordable housing and especially social rented homes it's number one priority by increasing spending on building houses to many hundreds of millions of pounds as at the current time this SNP Government is badly failing the tenants and homeless people of Scotland. "We need action now." New official analysis further shows that the number of all new housebuilding starts continued to drop in 2024/25 after and is at its lowest since 2012/13 with 15,053 begun in the last financial year. Some 13 of Scotland's 32 councils declared housing emergencies since Argyll and Bute Council became the first in June, 2023. It comes as the number of small and medium size (SME) home builders has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Red tape and rising costs are highlighted as key issues, with nearly 9 in 10 survey respondents saying government policies are making it harder for them to build, according to sector body Homes for Scotland. Earlier this month the First Minister urged the UK Government to take more action and spend more money to address Scotland's housing crisis. Two weeks ago the First Minister was subsequently challenged to finally fix Scotland's housing emergency after the UK Government announced a multi-billion pound investment to build more affordable homes. The Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that £39 billion will be spent over the next 10 years in England to boost the supply of properties available for social and mid-market rent. The Chancellor announced the Scottish Government will receive £52 billion in total over the next three years, which means an additional £9 billion for Holyrood by 2029. That came as it was announced Mairi McAllan would serve as the new Cabinet Secretary for Housing after receiving constant criticism in slumps in new build properties at a time of rising homelessness.
Business Times
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Falling sales offer few signs of end to China's property slump
FALLING property sales over the first five months of 2025 show how China's economically important real estate market remained stuck in a slump this year despite signs of heat in the markets in higher-tier cities. Cumulative sales of China's top 100 property developers from January to May fell 7.1 per cent year-on-year to 1.3 trillion yuan (S$233.2 billion), accelerating from the 6.7 per cent drop for the January-to-April period, according to figures published Saturday by China Real Estate Information Corp (CRIC). The CRIC report measures sales from projects directly managed by the top 100 developers, excluding projects including those run by external partners. Figures released by another data provider for the industry, China Index Holdings (CIH), painted a similar picture. Total sales of the top 100 property developers for the first five months were down 10.8 per cent year-on-year to 1.4 trillion yuan, according to a recent CIH report. In the CIH report, sales included revenue from projects managed by both developers' in-house sales teams and those outsourced. For May alone, sales by top developers fell 8.6 per cent year-on-year to nearly 295 billion yuan, although the total was up 3.5 per cent on a month-on-month basis, according to CRIC figures. The CIH data showed an even steeper year-on-year sales drop of 17.3 per cent for May, with the decline widening from 16.8 per cent in April. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up To put the scale of the downturn in perspective, sales of 1.3 trillion yuan amount to less than 30 per cent of the total made over the first five months of 2021, before the slump began. The May sales figures offer a broader view of a national real estate market that has grown increasingly bifurcated. Analysts have been highlighting the difference in demand between metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai and in lower-tier Chinese cities. In Shanghai, demand looks to be heating up. According to a report by EH Consulting, a real estate industry research institute, multiple residential projects managed to sell out in a single day in May. In one example, a local subsidiary of developer Greentown China Holdings sold all 120 units of a project on the same day it was put on the market, the report said. The homes sold for 195,000 yuan per square meter, generating nearly 7 billion yuan in revenue. It's a different story in some of China's lesser-known and less wealthy cities. The vast majority of property developments in third and fourth-tier cities have far more supply than demand, said a senior sales executive at a leading property developer who did not wish to be named. Two factors have long helped drive China's property market: the need for new homes and the belief that housing was a sure-fire investment. Since the downturn, however, residential property has lost its appeal as an investment in many third- and fourth-tier cities, the executive said. In addition, basic housing needs have already been met in those areas. With the populations of many of the cities already starting to shrink and with the average household already owning two or three homes, a slowdown in home sales was inevitable 'In the long run, we believe the property market will eventually stabilise,' the executive said. 'But in the near term, market divergence will persist.' Addressing the disparity requires tackling the problem from both the supply and demand sides, market insiders said. The CRIC report noted that the current new housing supply has fallen significantly, particularly in hot markets such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chengdu. The situation has limited the potential for a surge in sales volume in those cities. Changes to government policy could help. The EH Consulting report recommended shifting from broad-based stimulus to more targeted, nuanced regulation over the property market. That would help different parts of the market achieve a better balance between supply and demand that would eventually stabilise prices. CIH expects housing market policy to remain accommodative in June. With the mid-year sales window approaching, property developers are likely to accelerate project launches and increase their marketing efforts, the report said. It added that the market in core cities is expected to continue its recovery, although divergences between cities are likely to continue. CAIXIN GLOBAL
Business Wire
05-06-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
AIHA Announces New 2025-2026 Board Members, Prepares for Inaugural Strategic Meeting in New Orleans, LA
FALLS CHURCH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIHA, the association for occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals, inducted its new Board of Directors for the 2025-2026 term during its annual business meeting held during the AIHA Connect 2025 conference in Kansas City, MO. The AIHA Board will commence its first Strategic Planning meeting in July in New Orleans, LA, site of AIHA Connect 2026. The 2025-2026 Board of Directors includes officers: President: Bradley S. King, PhD, MPH, CIH President-Elect: Nancy M. McClellan, MPH, CIH, CHMM Vice President: Cheryl Marcham, PhD, CIH, CSP, CHMM, FAIHA Past President: Nicole M.H. Greeson, MS, CIH Secretary: Justine Parker, CIH, CSP, CPH, CHMM Treasurer: Lucinette Alvarado Rivera, CIH Treasurer-Elect: Eric R. White, MPH, CIH, CSP AIHA members serving as directors-at-large include: Isabel Bacarella, MPH, CIH, CSP Vanessa A. Brady, MS, CIH, CSP Matthew M. Dahm, PhD John R. Moore III, CIH, CSP Bradley Rodgers, MS, MBA, CIH, CSP Amy Snow, CIH 'Each member of AIHA's Board of Directors contributes their own unique perspectives and experiences,' said Lawrence Sloan, CEO of AIHA. 'Their knowledge, expertise, dedication, and passion support our mission of promoting and protecting worker health and will contribute significantly to our efforts as we continue to navigate the evolving landscape of occupational health and safety.' Sloan expressed his appreciation for the invaluable contributions made to AIHA by the outgoing Board members: Dina M. Siegel, CIH, CSP, CBSP, FAIHA, former past president; Pamela A. Kostle, CIH, FAIHA, former secretary; and Bryan Seal, PhD, CIH, CSP, CHMM, REHS; former director-at-large. 'Our Board members volunteer significant time and energy during their tenures, and for that we are grateful,' said Sloan. 'Their contributions to AIHA will have lasting effects on our organization and the health and safety of workers and communities around the world.' Details of Newly Elected 2025-2026 Board Members: Cheryl (Cheri) Marcham, PhD, CIH, CSP, CHMM, FAIHA, was elected Vice President. Marcham has previously served on the board as a director-at-large. She has volunteered with several AIHA groups including the Indoor Environmental Quality Committee, Academic Accreditation Panel, Conference Program Committee, Real-Time Detection Systems Committee, and more. She has authored or contributed to several AIHA publications, including serving most recently as Project Team Leader for the Aerosolized Infectious Agents Guidance Document and as Project Team member of the Hierarchy of Controls White Paper, which received the 2024 AIHA President's Award. Marcham is Associate Professor and Program Chair at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Isabel Bacarella, MPH, CIH, CSP, was elected director-at-large. Bacarella has been a member of AIHA since 2010 and previously served as Chair of the Women in Industrial Hygiene Committee, President of the Gulf Coast Local Section, and member of the AIHA Career and Employment Services Group. In 2016, she received the AIHA Outstanding Volunteer Member Award. Bacarella currently works as Manager of Gas Transmission & Midstream (GRM) Safety Operations at Enbridge in Houston, TX. Amy Snow, CIH, was elected director-at-large. Snow has served as Chair of the Healthcare Working Group, Lead of the Hazardous Drug Subcommittee (publishing the AIHA Hazardous Drug Surface Contamination Guidance Document), and Secretary of the Carolinas Local Section. Snow has also served on the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Volunteer Group. She currently works for Trinity - SafeBridge Consultants as a Managing Industrial Hygienist. Justine Parker, CIH, CSP, CPH, CHMM and Eric R. White, MPH, CIH, CSP moved from director-at-large roles on the Board to the officer positions of secretary and treasurer respectively. AIHA appreciates their continued support. About AIHA AIHA is the association for scientists and professionals committed to preserving and ensuring occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) in the workplace and community. Founded in 1939, AIHA supports worker health and safety through our expertise, networks, comprehensive education programs, and other products and services that help companies maintain the highest professional and competency standards. AIHA serves as a resource for those employed across the public and private sectors and the communities in which they work. For more information visit
