Shirley-Anne Somerville has been appointed Social Justice and Housing Secretary in the Scottish Government by First Minister John Swinney in a top team reshuffle.

Somerville was previously an MSP for the Lothians region from 2007 to 2011 and returned to the Scottish Parliament in 2016 as MSP for Dunfermline. She was recently Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and replaces Màiri McAllan who was appointed to the housing job last June after Paul McLennan stepped down.

Some charity bosses have criticised the merging of the social justice and housing briefs as “deflating”. Gordon Llewellyn-MacRae, assistant director at Shelter Scotland, says without a dedicated seat at the table, housing organisations will need to keep speaking out to ensure manifesto pledges turned into action.

“It is incredibly deflating to see housing downgraded from a specific cabinet post to a shared portfolio and the standalone housing minister effectively downgraded to a junior role,” he says.

Welcomed

However, the Scottish Association of Landlords welcomed the appointment. Chief executive John Blackwood (pictured) tells LandlordZONE: “In this time of housing crisis, landlords, tenants, and government must view ourselves as partners in getting people into homes and not as adversaries.

“Having previously worked with Ms Somerville, we look forward to meeting with her and finding ways to tackle Scotland’s housing emergency.”

Somerville says she’s delighted to take on the role, bringing together an “ambitious agenda on poverty and housing into one Cabinet position".

Cost

She adds: “Housing is the single biggest cost many families face every month – and everyone must have a safe, secure and warm home. I am looking forward to ensuring access to affordable, high-quality housing for all, and delivering on commitments such as our new housing agency, and £10,000 for first-time buyers.”

Although Somerville is an advocate of eradicating child poverty and once said in a parliamentary debate that rent controls are one aspect of that; she is seemingly mindful of the PRS. She told MSPs: “We need to provide certainty to private investors to ensure that we have investment in the capital city and across the country. There needs to be a balance that achieves appropriate protections for the property rights of landlords and support for investment, but we must also always ensure that we protect tenants.”

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