Professor John Robertson OBA
In the Herald today:
More than 700,000 Scottish homes are classed as not fit for habitation – with 600,000 more properties registered as below a legal tolerable standard since the pandemic, The Herald can reveal. Official surveys carried out for the Scottish Government show that in 2023, the number of Scots properties falling below the ‘tolerable standard’ in order to be fit for habitation has shot up from an estimated 54,000 (2%) in 2018 to 729,000 (27%) in 2023.
The report is keen to link the above figures to child deaths:
OMG, we think, until we read down, down, further, there it is:
It’s almost all about that recent requirement to have several linked smoke detector alarms in different parts of the house:
but, see that wee cagey attempt to link the survey and the 700 000 homes to damp and this child death?
Where is the above from? I looked and found this:
On 28 January, Scottish House Condition Survey: 2023 Key Findings, was published with this warning:
Therefore direct comparisons with reported household figures in previous SHCS Annual Reports and this report should not be made.
and these acknowledgements:
The Scottish Government acknowledges and thanks the 3,151 households across Scotland who gave their time to take part in the Scottish House Condition Survey social interview and the follow-up physical dwelling inspection in 2023.
This report was produced by the Fuel Poverty and House Condition Analysis team at the Scottish Government with support from Adam Krawczyk, the Scottish Household Survey team, the Office of the Chief Statistician and Data Officer and colleagues within the Housing, Homelessness and Regeneration Analysis unit.
Finally, special thanks to:
Ipsos MORI: Chris Martin, Colin Hockaday, Stuart Stevenson, Murray Petrie and all the regional managers, the surveyors and the social interviewers.
BRE: Chris Beer, Adele Beaumont and Ana Slater for their energy modelling and work on the physical survey.
Alembic Research: Bill Sheldrick for his role in surveyor training and the energy prices survey.
What did THEY find?
Levels of mould, damp and condensation were similar to those seen in 2022: 90% of properties were free from any damp or condensation and 90% were free from mould.
Remember, we’re not talking about life-threatening levels of damp in the 10%, just that some was detected, somewhere in the building.
Back to the Herald’s standards – E MINUS, DO NOT RESUBMIT
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Indeed, yet another Exclusive by Martin Williams, all at sea with his ferry stories, now beached with damp arse for a brain… https://archive.ph/xHZEZ Has he tried Pampers ?
What kills me about Martin’s approach is he was one of the ‘cut the red tape’ promoters, yet he’s now calling foul on exactly that because England is finally catching up with Scotland ? Hypocrisy ? Much ?
There is no question that the explosion of ‘business landlords’ in the wake of Thatcherism ruptured affordable housing, tarring good landlords who invested in their properties to preserve the realisable values as with the same brush as those motivated solely by short term profit.
It’s not even the fault of decent people who made a bob or two more than the rest and decided to invest locally, ultimately ruined by shady practices of those managing their properties, and I do mean made bankrupt, it, it’s the f-you brigade looking to make a fast buck who became the ‘heroes’ in a world worshiping wealth, people like Martin.
Post 1945 housing was the preserve of local councils – The difference today is no battle weary soldiers returning to ‘a land fit for heroes’ and having to make it for themselves, but greedy bastards with none to prevent them screwing over the populace.
And Martin Exclusive would have us all believe it’s all down to SG.
Bullshit Martin Williams, total bullshit….. Pampers are cheap at your rates I’d guess…
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Scottish Gov building or renovating 6,000 affordable homes a year. Builders building 17,000 a year. 50,000+ people die in Scotland a year. Usually after a long and happy life? Frees up properties. Scotland’s population has increased 400,000 since 2000 Devolution. How many families. 50,000? properties becoming available each year, since 2000?
There are more homes on average in Scotland. Some not in the right place for work and families. Some areas expanding, some contracting. The highest number of households are one in a household. Increasingly elderly population. Less children being born on average in Europe.
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