Given the current housing emergency that many councils are facing across Scotland, housing voids was selected as the second pilot of peer collaborative improvement (PCI). This took place in Spring and Summer of 2025 and was led by the host authority, Aberdeenshire Council with support from peer reviewers at Highland, South Lanarkshire and Perth and Kinross councils.
As with the first PCI pilot, the LGBF and PSIF were key cornerstones in the identification of housing voids as an area for improvement at the host council. The LGBF was also used, alongside data from the Housing Regulator to identify strong performing councils who could support the host authority.
Following a positive PCI process, in which the peer reviewers shared a range of recommendations, the host authority agreed to implement several of these into an improvement plan to help tackle housing voids in the local authority.
Improvement Plan
Aberdeenshire Council Housing Voids Improvement Plan
The recommendations, proposed responses and timelines for action from the Peer Collaborative Improvement Review of Aberdeenshire Council's housing voids.
Evaluation of housing voids pilot
Peer Collaborative Improvement Pilot Programme: Evaluation of Phase 2, November 2025
Summary of survey results from the evaluation of phase 2 of the Peer Collaborative Improvement pilot programme.
Resources
The following documents were shared with Aberdeenshire Council by the peer reviewers during the peer collaborative improvement.
Highland
Perth and Kinross
- Perth and Kinross Lettable Standard 2025 - Guide for Council Tenants
- Perth and Kinross Council's Housing Options for Older People Guide
- Perth and Kinross Council's sheltered housing website
- Perth and Kinross Council Lettable Standard
South Lanarkshire
Phone: 07747 711310
Phone: 07827 230905
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework
The LGBF brings together a wide range of information about how all Scottish councils perform in delivering services to local communities.
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Public Service Improvement Framework
The Public Service Improvement Framework (PSIF) is a self-assessment approach to support improvement in organisations.
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The Crerar Review
Report of the independent review of regulation, audit, inspection and complaints handling of public services in Scotland.