Having it All? Housing Reform Under Devolution

This paper aims to make an assessment of housing reform in Scotland since devolution in 1999. It is not concerned with a detailed analysis of any one particular policy but instead looks at whether housing reform is likely to contribute successfully to its own high level goals, which are identified as social justice, social cohesion, economic competitiveness and the empowerment of citizens and communities. It proceeds by examining those goals and the context for their development, and examining how they have been pursued, mainly through legislative change but also by administrative reform and financial inducement. The paper contends that in respect of some goals, especially achieving greater social justice, the reforms are likely to make considerable inroads. However, it also notes that the goals open up areas of conflict that are not fully acknowledged and are not resolved by the reforms.