Finding new owners for empty homes
- 17 December 2025
A new online portal (Matchmaker Scheme for Empty Homes in Scotland – Scotland Empty Homes Partnership)has been launched to bring empty homeowners together with prospective buyers or developers with the aim of facilitating more properties to be used as homes again. Covering the whole of Scotland, this builds on the success of local pilots, referred to as “matchmaker schemes”, which allow owners of empty homes […]
Sustainable alternative to cremation
- 17 December 2025
Environmentally-friendly hydrolysis, also known as water cremation, will be introduced under draft regulations laid in the Scottish Parliament. The regulations will, if approved, give an option for people interested in alternatives to burial or cremation for the first time in more than a century. Through this process, the body is wrapped in a silk or […]
Planning for healthier communities: opportunities in the Scottish planning system
- 17 December 2025
In collaboration with Public Health Scotland, Nesta, an innovation agency for social good, has published two key publications which explore how Scotland’s planning system can be used to create healthier food environments and support efforts to reduce obesity and health inequalities. The two publications are: These resources draw on research, stakeholder engagement, and lessons learned […]
Season’s Greetings from REHIS
- 17 December 2025
On behalf of everyone at REHIS, we wish you a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to working with you again in 2026. REHIS Merry CHRISTMAS The REHIS office will close at 2pm on Wednesday 24 December 2024 and will re-open on […]
The Scottish Government published a consultation on the proposed amendments to the Environmental Noise (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
- 3 December 2025
The Environmental Noise (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (“the 2006 Regulations”) require the Scottish Government and some airport operators to meet a number of statutory requirements to bring about measures which are intended to avoid, prevent, or reduce, on a prioritised area basis, the harmful effects, including annoyance, due to the exposure to environmental noise. This public […]
New environmental health programmes will strengthen Scotland’s public health workforce
- 26 November 2025
Postgraduate courses aim to boost recruitment of Environmental Health Officers across Scotland Abertay University has unveiled three new postgraduate programmes in Environmental Health to address Scotland’s critical shortage of Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) within local authorities. Read the full article here Abertay University launches new environmental health programmes to strengthen Scotland’s public health workforce
EU publishes annual report on food trade platform
- 25 November 2025
The annual report of a system that helps ensure safe trade involving Europe has revealed the scale and reasons for rejected shipments. TRACES is the online platform of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG Sante) in the European Commission, used for sanitary, phytosanitary and food safety certification. 2024 marked the system’s 20th anniversary. It […]
Scottish Government consult on noise action plans covering five cities
- 24 November 2025
The Scottish Government are consulting on an updated Agglomeration Noise Action Plan. This consultation applies to the draft Agglomerations Noise Action Plan for Scotland that covers the five agglomerations of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, and Glasgow, and seeks the views of those individuals and / or organisations that hold an interest in noise pollution. The Environmental […]
Draft Climate Change Plan published
- 24 November 2025
The Scottish Government have published their draft Climate Change Plan to 2040. The plan sets out actions designed to reduce Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions. Scotland is already over half way to net zero having reduced emissions by 51.3% since 1990 – the largest reduction in the UK and faster than the EU average, using comparable […]
Stopping non-essential wood burning could save NHS over £54m annually
- 24 November 2025
The new research, commissioned by Global Action Plan and Hertfordshire County Council, finds that air pollution from domestic combustion contributes to nearly 2,500 deaths each year in the UK. Across the population, this adds up to over 27,000 years of life lost to early deaths. The report, produced by air quality and economic experts at […]
Scale of obesity challenge in Scotland highlighted by new research
- 23 November 2025
New research from Public Health Scotland (PHS), conducted in collaboration with Sciensano* and recently published in Public Health, the journal of the Royal Society of Public Health, projects a surge in the number of adult cases of excess weight in Scotland by 2040. The findings highlight the scale of the challenge for both population health and […]
HSE publishes annual workplace health and safety statistics
- 21 November 2025
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its annual statistics on work-related ill health and workplace injuries for 2024/25. The figures show that an estimated 1.9 million workers suffered from work-related ill health during 2024/25, remaining broadly consistent with the levels seen in recent years. While the recent rates of self-reported work-related ill health […]
