The Scottish Housing Regulator welcomed two new members appointed by Scottish Ministers from 1 November 2021. The new members are Marieke Dwarshuis and Lindsay Paterson.
George Walker, Chair of the Scottish Housing Regulator said:
“I am delighted to welcome Marieke and Lindsay to our Board. They are both talented and skilled women, who bring a wealth of skills and experience from across the legal, public, regulatory and voluntary sectors. I look forward to working with them both.
“We had a really positive response to Scottish Minister’s recruitment campaign. I would like to thank everyone interested in our work and also all our stakeholders who helped to promote the opportunities.
Marieke Dwarshuis graduated in Law from Utrecht University in The Netherlands, and her career in Scotland spans 30 years in the public and voluntary sector in a wide range of roles. She was Director of Consumer Focus Scotland, and a member of the team that established the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. She has held positions in the Scottish Government, where amongst other things she worked on Access to Justice issues, prior to which she was Depute Director at Shelter Scotland. She started her career in Scotland at Citizens Advice Scotland. Marieke was a member of the board of Hillcrest Housing Association for a number of years. Marieke brings expertise in regulation, in corporate governance and in leading and overseeing organisational change.
Lindsay Paterson is a practising Scottish solicitor who has spent her career assisting vulnerable people with various aspects of social welfare law. Lindsay is currently the Head of the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s Civil Legal Assistance (CLAO) in Edinburgh where, as well as being responsible for managing the day to day operations of the Edinburgh office, she advises and represents tenants and those experiencing homelessness with various aspects of housing law. Prior to moving to Edinburgh, Lindsay worked for CLAO in Inverness where her role involved travelling throughout the Highlands and Islands to assist and represent people with civil legal problems – again with a particular focus on housing law.
Find out more about the new Board members and the appointments by Scottish Ministers.
Notes to editors
- The Scottish Housing Regulator was established on 1 April 2011 under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010. Its objective is to safeguard and promote the interests of tenants and others who use local authority and RSL housing services. The Regulator operates independently of Scottish Ministers and is accountable directly to the Scottish Parliament. It assumed its full regulatory responsibilities on 1 April 2012. The Regulator consists of the Chair and eight Board members. More information about the Regulator can be found on its website at housingregulator.gov.scot
- SHR sets out how it regulates social landlords in its published framework – Regulation of Social Housing in Scotland.