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Temporary accommodation in Scotland: pressures on homelessness services
Reading time: 5 minutes
On 31 March 2026, more than 19,000 households, including over 10,700 children, were living in temporary homeless accommodation in Scotland. This represented increases of 10%…
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Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Social Housing in Scotland
Reading time: 6 minutes
Asylum seekers are not entitled to homeless assistance; and refugees do not get special priority for homelessness assistance or social housing in Scotland. The recent…
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Data Centres
Reading time: 10 minutes
This post answers some key questions about data centres and their development in Scotland, with a focus on resources use and national planning policy.
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New Scottish Council Tax Powers for Empty and Second Homes
Reading time: 5 minutes
Updated 19 May 2026. Recently approved regulations will, from 1 April 2026, allow councils in Scotland to set higher council tax charges for long-term empty…
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Dampness and mould in rented housing – What will ‘Awaab’s law’ in Scotland do?
Reading time: 3 minutes
The Scottish Parliament has approved new regulations that will, from October 2026, place new duties on social and private rented landlords. These duties require landlords…
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Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill – looking ahead to Stage 3
Reading time: 5 minutes
This blog gives an overview of the Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill, summarising Stage 1 and 2 ahead of the Stage 3 debate in March…
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SPICe Hub: draft Climate Change Plan
Reading time: 2 minutes
The Scottish Government published a draft Climate Change Plan (CCP) on 6 November 2025, marking the start of 120 days of its parliamentary scrutiny (until…
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What happened to the Housing (Scotland) Bill at Stage 2?
Reading time: 5 minutes
The final stage of the Housing (Scotland) Bill (Stage 3) is due to take place on 23 and 24 September 2025. This blog looks at…
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Next steps towards a Good Food Nation – do we have the right plan?
Reading time: 12 minutes
This guest blog provides background to the development of a National Good Food Nation Plan for Scotland.
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Driving down driving 3
Reading time: 11 minutes
This post looks at Scottish Government actions to reduce car use since the establishment of, a now abandoned. target to reduce the distance driven by…
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Planning appeals in Scotland
Reading time: 6 minutes
A post outlining key aspects of the Scottish planning appeal process.
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Scotland’s Housing Emergency – one year on
Reading time: 4 minutes
It’s a year since the Scottish Parliament agreed to a Scottish Labour motion declaring a national “housing emergency” in Scotland. A previous SPICe blog considered…
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