“...a lack of affordable housing in rural Scotland is perhaps the biggest issue threatening the viability of communities today. This situation is not new but since house prices really took off some 20 years ago, there is asense that the issue has now become existential. Lack of employment is often similarly highlighted as a major issue, but thanks to the social security system most people can manage, to some degree at least, a period of being unemployed or under employed. In contrast, without adequate and secure accommodation people very quickly have to leave their home communities in search of housing, more often than not in distant towns and cities - even if, as is often the dase, they have a job offer locally.” ScotlandAffordable HousingRural Housing Book:Reforesting Scotland 67, Spring/Summer 2023 Source: Reforesting Scotland 67, Spring/Summer 2023