There is a need for a move away from a housing land market driven by private profit to one driven by the public interest
Having gained a Diploma in Housing Studies from University of Stirling, the new Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Shirley-Anne Somerville, will well understand the inadequacy of the neoliberal market-led model of housing delivery to which her officials appear wedded. Meeting housing needs and creating places of quality are public policy objectives. Public sector leadership is needed to address market failure and in recognition that place is a public good. It must be hoped that the new Cabinet Secretary will take the opportunity afforded to her to pursue the public interest approach to housing delivery recommended by the Scottish Land Commission rather than persisting with one that favours volume housebuilders, their shareholders and the banks. The public interest approach is the route to ensuring that enough houses are built, that they are built in the right places in developments of quality, and that the full range of housing needs is met. Perhaps the new housing agency promised during the 2026 Election might be set the task of putting that approach in place as its first priority?