NEWS FROM CHR ST ANDREWS

CHR Event: Facing the Challenges to Housing Scotland's People
The Centre for Housing Research sponsored a one day roundtable on February 3 to seek consensus on the housing issues that need urgent attention in Scotland. Organised by Knowledge Exchange Specialist, Sharon Chisholm, the event was intended to discuss and agree on the important issues by stimulating a conversation with key stakeholders. Grainia Long of CIH, kicked the day off with a stimulating review of where we have come to, what opportunities have been missed and the urgent need for immediate action. Michael Lennon, Derek Ballantyne and Per Ahren provided international perspectives and a host of other presentations focused on key issues across all tenures.

Carnegie Funded Research: Housing Associations and the 'Big Society'
Dr Kim McKee has been awarded a Carnegie Foundation small grant to research the impact of the big society on housing policy in Scotland. Focusing on the community-based housing sector in Scotland and the role of housing associations as ‘community anchors’, this exploratory qualitative study will deconstruct the ideas underpinning the big society and explore the strengths and weaknesses of this political ideology for housing policy and practice. It will report in the Spring.

New research project from CHR
Entitled ‘Mind the (Housing) Wealth Gap: Intergenerational Justice and Family Welfare’, this three year project is concerned with the wealth inequalities and injustice that exist not only between but within generations. It is being funded by the Leverhulme Trust and will be led by Dr Beverley Searle, combining expertise from the Universities of St Andrews (Dr Kim McKee, and Professor Duncan Maclennan), Durham (Professor Lorna Fox), Birmingham (Professor Karen Rowlingson) and Delft (Dr Maarten van Ham). Access to private wealth (notably housing wealth) is of increasing political and social importance. It not only determines the quality of life for older people but increasingly determines life chances of younger people. This new project will explore concerns of intergenerational justice and the new tensions between family members arising from competing demands - inheritance vs welfare – on families limited wealth resources. Understanding these issues will become vital to addressing the inequalities and injustices that current and future generations experience.For further information please contact Dr Beverley Searle at bas4@st-andrews.ac.uk