Recommendations & Conclusions
32 items
1
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
It is not possible to gauge exactly how prevalent poor quality is within the social housing sector. Given that the English Housing Survey (EHS) estimated that 13% of homes in the social rented sector failed to meet the decent homes standard in 2020, it is fair to conclude that the …
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It is not possible to gauge exactly how prevalent poor quality is within the social housing sector. Given that the English Housing Survey (EHS) estimated that 13% of homes in the social rented sector failed to meet the decent homes standard in 2020, it is fair to conclude that the majority of homes are decent, although we note that this is based on an outdated decent homes standard. It is equally apparent, however, that the condition of some of the stock has deteriorated so far as to be unfit for human habitation and that the impact on the mental and physical health of those affected is extremely serious. According to the EHS, 5% of social housing contains a category 1 hazard. This might be less than in the private rented sector, but it still equates to an unacceptable number of homes.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that the majority of social housing in England is of a decent standard and that examples of disrepair highlighted by the Inquiry are not representative of the majority of social housing tenants’ experiences.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
2
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
Whatever the extent and causes of housing disrepair, we call on everyone in and connected to the social housing sector to work together and prioritise above all else the quality of housing being provided to existing tenants.
Government response AI summary
The government agrees the sector needs to prioritize the quality of housing and states that their messaging to the sector has been unequivocally strong and clear on this issue.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
9
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We agree with our witnesses that housing disrepair, particularly damp and mould, is often aggravated by the inability of tenants to heat or ventilate their homes properly or by overcrowding, or by a mixture of both. We also agree that tenants cannot, and must not, be held responsible for either …
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We agree with our witnesses that housing disrepair, particularly damp and mould, is often aggravated by the inability of tenants to heat or ventilate their homes properly or by overcrowding, or by a mixture of both. We also agree that tenants cannot, and must not, be held responsible for either of these things. It would be unacceptable if anyone was suffering from fuel poverty or experiencing overcrowded living conditions, and also being blamed for their home falling into disrepair as a consequence. This is of particular concern at a time when fuel poverty is likely to increase significantly as a result of rising energy bills.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that the sector needs to prioritize the quality of housing and states that their messaging to registered providers has been unequivocally strong and clear on maintaining a constant focus on delivering safe, good quality homes and treating tenants with respect.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
10
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We urge all providers of social housing to support tenants who, through no fault of their own, cannot heat or ventilate their homes properly. This support should include the provision of dehumidifiers and mechanical ventilation systems to deal with condensation before it leads to damp and mould.
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We urge all providers of social housing to support tenants who, through no fault of their own, cannot heat or ventilate their homes properly. This support should include the provision of dehumidifiers and mechanical ventilation systems to deal with condensation before it leads to damp and mould.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of housing quality and maintaining safe homes, reiterating its clear messaging to providers, but does not specifically commit to the provision of dehumidifiers or mechanical ventilation systems.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
13
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The presence of a stigma attached to being a social housing tenant is very hard to dispute, although it is difficult to say how prevalent stigmatising views are among contractors and staff working for social housing providers. It is also difficult to say how prevalent other types of discrimination are. …
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The presence of a stigma attached to being a social housing tenant is very hard to dispute, although it is difficult to say how prevalent stigmatising views are among contractors and staff working for social housing providers. It is also difficult to say how prevalent other types of discrimination are. If, however, even a small number of contractors or staff in the sector are discriminating against tenants, it is clearly a very serious problem that the sector must respond to immediately.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that providers must take concerns over stigma and discrimination seriously, and work towards reducing the factors leading to it, restating the existing standards.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
15
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The power imbalance between tenants and housing providers is one of the biggest problems facing the social housing sector today. One of the most effective ways of empowering tenants, however, is through the establishment of tenants and residents associations, led by tenants themselves, with which providers must engage first and …
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The power imbalance between tenants and housing providers is one of the biggest problems facing the social housing sector today. One of the most effective ways of empowering tenants, however, is through the establishment of tenants and residents associations, led by tenants themselves, with which providers must engage first and foremost when consulting tenants.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that providers must take concerns over stigma and discrimination seriously, and work towards reducing the factors leading to it, restating the existing standards.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
17
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs) and the new access to information scheme are central to the Government’s plans for making the sector more transparent. While we do welcome the steps taken to improve transparency, we must note how underwhelmed the sector is by these proposals. In their current form, we …
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The tenant satisfaction measures (TSMs) and the new access to information scheme are central to the Government’s plans for making the sector more transparent. While we do welcome the steps taken to improve transparency, we must note how underwhelmed the sector is by these proposals. In their current form, we think they could, if implemented properly, make a small but meaningful contribution to the ability of tenants to hold their provider to account.
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Government response AI summary
The government has published a final suite of TSMs, which they will use as a source of regulatory intelligence, and they intend to review their TSM requirements at an appropriate point after implementation.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
18
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We urge the Government and the Regulator of Social Housing to work together to ensure the TSMs and the access-to-information scheme are implemented in such a way that tenants can have confidence in their reliability and effectiveness as a means of holding their provider to account. We also recommend that …
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We urge the Government and the Regulator of Social Housing to work together to ensure the TSMs and the access-to-information scheme are implemented in such a way that tenants can have confidence in their reliability and effectiveness as a means of holding their provider to account. We also recommend that the regulator set out how it intends to monitor and review the performance of the TSMs, with a view to making improvements if they are not delivering for tenants.
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Government response AI summary
The government has published a final suite of TSMs, which they will use as a source of regulatory intelligence, and they intend to review their TSM requirements at an appropriate point after implementation.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
21
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The commercialisation of social housing can be traced back to the cut to government funding in 2011. Whilst we would like the Government to provide more central funding for specific purposes, such as regeneration, building safety, decarbonisation and new housing, the sector is now clearly dependent on high levels of …
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The commercialisation of social housing can be traced back to the cut to government funding in 2011. Whilst we would like the Government to provide more central funding for specific purposes, such as regeneration, building safety, decarbonisation and new housing, the sector is now clearly dependent on high levels of private investment, and will continue to be so. In many respects, this has had regrettable consequences. Many housing associations have charitable status because they exist to provide housing for those who have difficulty in affording market rent. The interests of private investors, particularly regarding their return on investments, must not outweigh the welfare of tenants.
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Government response AI summary
The government states they continue to apply consumer powers robustly, encourage providers to improve services and engage with tenants, and share learning from casework with the sector to strengthen systems and processes.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
22
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
It is difficult to say for certain whether very large providers are more likely to lose sight of their core responsibility, which is to their tenants, but it seems obvious that there is a tendency for such providers to become more remote and impersonal. If such providers struggle to provide …
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It is difficult to say for certain whether very large providers are more likely to lose sight of their core responsibility, which is to their tenants, but it seems obvious that there is a tendency for such providers to become more remote and impersonal. If such providers struggle to provide more local and personal housing services, it means they are simply too big and have forgotten their original purpose, which is to provide affordable housing to those who cannot meet their housing needs elsewhere. The Regulator of Social Housing’s tenant involvement and empowerment standard is far too weak on the provision of local services.
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Government response AI summary
The government states they continue to apply consumer powers robustly, encourage providers to improve services and engage with tenants, and share learning from casework with the sector to strengthen systems and processes.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
23
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We urge all social housing providers, especially the larger ones, to prioritise putting the tenant at the centre of how they deliver housing services, including by relying far less on impersonal and remote methods of communication and increasing the number of local offices with staff who know the area. We …
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We urge all social housing providers, especially the larger ones, to prioritise putting the tenant at the centre of how they deliver housing services, including by relying far less on impersonal and remote methods of communication and increasing the number of local offices with staff who know the area. We also recommend that, as part of its review of the consumer standards, the Regulator of Social Housing significantly strengthen the wording of the tenant involvement and empowerment standard to require providers to deliver housing services that are genuinely local and tenant centred.
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Government response AI summary
The government states that the overall intention for the new standards will remain to set clear outcome-based expectations, and that registered providers and their tenants are enabled to design the most appropriate way to meet their outcomes according to the needs of their tenant base.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
26
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The primary responsibility for resolving disputes between tenants and providers lies with the providers themselves, and yet too often their complaint handling processes are inefficient and obstructive. It is understandable if tenants sometimes conclude they have been specifically designed to prevent them from ever referring their complaint to the Housing …
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The primary responsibility for resolving disputes between tenants and providers lies with the providers themselves, and yet too often their complaint handling processes are inefficient and obstructive. It is understandable if tenants sometimes conclude they have been specifically designed to prevent them from ever referring their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. It is also quite clear that, as well as adding insult to injury, the inefficiency of some providers’ complaint handling processes is itself contributing to levels of disrepair, since repeated requests for repairs will nearly always also be complaints, and satisfactory resolution will usually involve the completion of remediation or repair work.
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Government response AI summary
The government looks forward to continuing to work with tenants and other stakeholders as they develop a new proactive consumer regulation regime.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
27
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The introduction of the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code and complaint handling failure orders must drive improvement and consistency in the way providers respond to complaints. We are pleased therefore that the Government is legislating through the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to place the power to establish such a code …
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The introduction of the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code and complaint handling failure orders must drive improvement and consistency in the way providers respond to complaints. We are pleased therefore that the Government is legislating through the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to place the power to establish such a code on a statutory footing. It is not clear, however, if this will strengthen the ombudsman’s ability to enforce compliance. We are also concerned that no one is proactively monitoring whether providers have self-assessed against the code, although we are not sure if the ombudsman or the Regulator of Social Housing would be best placed to do this.
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Government response AI summary
The government looks forward to continuing to work with tenants and other stakeholders as they develop a new proactive consumer regulation regime.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
30
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The Housing Ombudsman’s new power to investigate systemic issues across the sector is an extremely valuable tool for improving quality across the sector, and we disagree strongly with the assertion that this represents any sort of encroachment on the remit of the Regulator of Social Housing.
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The Housing Ombudsman’s new power to investigate systemic issues across the sector is an extremely valuable tool for improving quality across the sector, and we disagree strongly with the assertion that this represents any sort of encroachment on the remit of the Regulator of Social Housing.
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Government response AI summary
The Housing Ombudsman welcomed the committee's support for their work on systemic issues and stated that they are investigating the systemic failures that give rise to complaints.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
31
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We encourage the Housing Ombudsman to continue investigating systemic failings across the social housing sector. In response to this report, the ombudsman should identify which further areas it may investigate. We further encourage both the ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing to continue co-operating and sharing information, building on …
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We encourage the Housing Ombudsman to continue investigating systemic failings across the social housing sector. In response to this report, the ombudsman should identify which further areas it may investigate. We further encourage both the ombudsman and the Regulator of Social Housing to continue co-operating and sharing information, building on each of their roles so their work complements each other, with a view to driving up standards across the sector.
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Government response AI summary
The Housing Ombudsman welcomed the committee's support and stated that investigating systemic failures is a core aspect of their role and promotes a positive complaint handling culture. They publish upcoming report topics on their website. They will work with the Regulator on a framework for …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
33
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We welcome the ombudsman’s decision to increase the levels of compensation for the most serious service failings, but even these are inadequate. If the Government thinks tenants in the private rented sector (PRS) should be entitled to compensation of up to £25,000, it cannot argue otherwise for social housing tenants. …
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We welcome the ombudsman’s decision to increase the levels of compensation for the most serious service failings, but even these are inadequate. If the Government thinks tenants in the private rented sector (PRS) should be entitled to compensation of up to £25,000, it cannot argue otherwise for social housing tenants. To tolerate a situation in which social housing tenants are not receiving the same levels of compensation as tenants in the PRS would amount to blatant discrimination. Significantly increasing levels of compensation should also help to concentrate the minds of boards and senior management teams on improving service standards.
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Government response AI summary
The government believes non-financial remedies, as well as financial ones, are an important aspect of an Ombudsman’s toolkit. Our calculation of financial bands will increase. A key aspect of this review will be ensuring landlords recognize distress and disruption in their own awards of compensation, …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
34
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The Government must commit to ensuring social housing tenants get the same levels of compensation it has said tenants in the PRS will be entitled to under its proposals for a new ombudsman. We recommend it does this by amending the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to include provisions setting out …
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The Government must commit to ensuring social housing tenants get the same levels of compensation it has said tenants in the PRS will be entitled to under its proposals for a new ombudsman. We recommend it does this by amending the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to include provisions setting out that the ombudsman may award compensation of up to £25,000. If not, it should publish its justification for treating social housing tenants and PRS tenants differently. Whether it commits to doing this or not, we call on the ombudsman to immediately increase the levels of compensation it awards. We also recommend that it include among those things for which it may award compensation an explicit reference to loss of earnings incurred when tenants take time off work to wait for repairs teams that do not turn up.
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Government response AI summary
The government believes that non-financial remedies are important, and the Ombudsman may order that the landlord reviews costs incurred by the household, but does not explicitly commit to amending the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill or increasing compensation limits. The Ombudsman will consider how its assessment …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
35
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
It is clear from the evidence we received during this inquiry, and from the constituency casework we deal with, that generally tenants are not aware of the Housing Ombudsman. We welcome the work the ombudsman has done recently to raise awareness of its service among tenants and agree that this …
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It is clear from the evidence we received during this inquiry, and from the constituency casework we deal with, that generally tenants are not aware of the Housing Ombudsman. We welcome the work the ombudsman has done recently to raise awareness of its service among tenants and agree that this could partly explain the increase in the number of complaints being referred to it. Providers, however, are very clearly not doing enough to inform tenants of their right to take a complaint to the ombudsman. It is possibly too easy for tenants to miss sentences inserted into correspondence and links on websites if they have not been made prominent. (Paragraph 132) 74 The Regulation of Social Housing
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Government response AI summary
The Housing Ombudsman agreed with the Committee that improved awareness of, and access to, the complaints procedure is essential. They believe there is a higher-than-average awareness of the Housing Ombudsman compared to other Ombudsman schemes, with research suggesting an awareness level amongst social tenants of …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
37
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
It appears that some local authorities might have misinterpreted the Housing Health and Safety Rating System enforcement guidance, and as such are not inspecting private providers. We welcome the Minister’s reiteration that a council can inspect a property owned by a private provider and issue an enforcement notice, although we …
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It appears that some local authorities might have misinterpreted the Housing Health and Safety Rating System enforcement guidance, and as such are not inspecting private providers. We welcome the Minister’s reiteration that a council can inspect a property owned by a private provider and issue an enforcement notice, although we note the significant pressures on local government finances at the moment. Perhaps more than anything else, these inspections could provide social housing tenants trapped in potentially unsafe homes with the reassurance that they can turn to someone independent of their housing provider who will advocate on their behalf.
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Government response AI summary
The Government recognises the importance of safe and secure homes and local authorities' powers to enforce housing standards, working to raise awareness of these powers regarding hazards like damp and mould. The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill will strengthen tenant rights and regulator powers.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
38
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We strongly recommend that the Government immediately make it clear to local councils that they have a duty to inspect all unsafe homes, irrespective of who owns it, including, if necessary, by producing new enforcement guidance. This must include setting out that there is nothing preventing a council’s environmental health …
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We strongly recommend that the Government immediately make it clear to local councils that they have a duty to inspect all unsafe homes, irrespective of who owns it, including, if necessary, by producing new enforcement guidance. This must include setting out that there is nothing preventing a council’s environmental health team from inspecting properties owned by that council and issuing it with a non-legal warning. (Paragraph 138) The Regulator of Social Housing
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Government response AI summary
The Government recognises the importance of safe and secure homes and local authorities' powers to enforce housing standards, working to raise awareness of these powers regarding hazards like damp and mould. The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill will strengthen tenant rights and regulator powers.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
39
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We welcome the removal of the serious detriment test, which has obstructed the effective regulation of the consumer standards for far too long.
Government response AI summary
The Government welcomes the Committee’s support on the removal of the serious detriment test, stating that this will give the Regulator stronger powers to proactively address issues of tenant safety and wellbeing.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
40
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The Regulator of Social Housing is independent of the Government and is alone responsible for the interpretation of its statutory duties. It interprets its duty to minimise intervention and act proportionately to mean that it should only find a provider non-compliant with the consumer standards if it also finds evidence …
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The Regulator of Social Housing is independent of the Government and is alone responsible for the interpretation of its statutory duties. It interprets its duty to minimise intervention and act proportionately to mean that it should only find a provider non-compliant with the consumer standards if it also finds evidence of systemic failure. The application of this ‘systemic failure’ test has resulted in perhaps the most passive consumer regulatory regime permissible under the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. It has also opened up a clear and worrying gap between the remit of the Housing Ombudsman, which investigates individual complaints, and that of the regulator. As happened at the Eastfields estate, it is possible under the ‘systemic failure’ test for a provider to be guilty of very serious mismanagement affecting dozens of tenants and not be found in breach of the standards.
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Government response AI summary
The Department engages regularly with the Regulator to understand how it is discharging its duties and to ensure that the Department’s policy intentions are understood. The Department welcomes the Committee’s views on the Regulator’s interpretation and will raise these points with the Regulator. The Government …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
42
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
To ensure that the consumer regulatory regime does not continue to let down tenants whose providers are responsible for serious mismanagement that does not meet the ‘systemic failure’ test, we strongly urge the Regulator of Social Housing to reconsider its interpretation of its duty to minimise interference and act proportionately. …
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To ensure that the consumer regulatory regime does not continue to let down tenants whose providers are responsible for serious mismanagement that does not meet the ‘systemic failure’ test, we strongly urge the Regulator of Social Housing to reconsider its interpretation of its duty to minimise interference and act proportionately. In particular, we recommend that it scrap the ‘systemic failure’ test and report back to us on how it plans to change its approach. We also recommend that the Government amend Clause 4 of the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to require the regulator and the Housing Ombudsman to set out in their memorandum of understanding how they intend to prevent gaps between their respective remits.
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Government response AI summary
The Regulator of Social Housing is independent of the Government and is alone responsible for the interpretation of its statutory duties. The Department engages regularly with the Regulator to understand how it is discharging its duties and to ensure that the Department’s policy intentions are …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
43
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
If the Regulator of Social Housing engages as little with tenants as seems to be the case, we are deeply concerned. It is impossible for the regulator to even give the appearance of putting tenants at the centre of its consumer regulation if it does not seem interested in their …
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If the Regulator of Social Housing engages as little with tenants as seems to be the case, we are deeply concerned. It is impossible for the regulator to even give the appearance of putting tenants at the centre of its consumer regulation if it does not seem interested in their experience, even where a provider has failed tenants as badly as Clarion did at Eastfields.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that tenants' voices should be at the center of social housing regulation. The Social Housing (Regulation) Bill will ensure that the Regulator engages with tenants when undertaking inspections. The Regulator has also recently introduced Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs), which will provide tenants …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
45
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The social housing sector has commercialised and diversified almost beyond recognition since 2011. That nothing has gone seriously wrong yet should be no cause for complacency, especially as we enter a period of rising inflation and interest rates. A single failure in the sector could be catastrophic, particularly given that …
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The social housing sector has commercialised and diversified almost beyond recognition since 2011. That nothing has gone seriously wrong yet should be no cause for complacency, especially as we enter a period of rising inflation and interest rates. A single failure in the sector could be catastrophic, particularly given that the assets of housing providers primarily comprise people’s homes. We therefore welcome the strengthening of the regulator’s powers in the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill. At the same time, however, the Regulator of Social Housing needs the skills and capacity to continue to regulate the economic standards effectively. Having an adequately resourced regulator is not, as was suggested to us, a sign of failure in the sector.
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Government response AI summary
The government welcomes the Committee's recommendations regarding their role and will carefully consider them as they continue to develop their approach to proactive consumer regulation.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
46
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We are also uncertain about the argument that any increase in the regulator’s powers would prompt the Office for National Statistics to reclassify the social housing sector as belonging to the public sector and so push its debt on to the government balance sheet. The primary consideration should be the …
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We are also uncertain about the argument that any increase in the regulator’s powers would prompt the Office for National Statistics to reclassify the social housing sector as belonging to the public sector and so push its debt on to the government balance sheet. The primary consideration should be the interest of tenants, not where the debts sits. In any case, the sector’s debt is fairly insignificant compared to the overall public debt. We understand that the regulator’s consent powers in respect of mergers was one of the reasons the ONS reclassified the sector in 2015, but it should be possible to give it a stronger role in monitoring mergers that stops short of such a consent power. (Paragraph 184) 76 The Regulation of Social Housing
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Government response AI summary
The Government welcomed the Committee’s views on the Regulator’s independence. The Regulator operates at arm’s length from Government, and it is for the Regulator to determine how to exercise its powers. The Department engages regularly with the Regulator to understand how it is discharging its …
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
47
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We disagree with the regulator’s assertion that intervening to shape the market - for example, to encourage providers to consolidate their stock in particular areas - would take the regulator beyond its duty to minimise interference. As we have stated elsewhere, we think it should reinterpret this duty, as its …
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We disagree with the regulator’s assertion that intervening to shape the market - for example, to encourage providers to consolidate their stock in particular areas - would take the regulator beyond its duty to minimise interference. As we have stated elsewhere, we think it should reinterpret this duty, as its current interpretation has resulted in a regulator that is simply too passive.
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Government response AI summary
The Department welcomes the Committee’s views on the Regulator’s interpretation of its duties and will raise these points with the Regulator.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
48
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We urge the Government and the Regulator of Social Housing to make sure the latter has the resourcing, skills and capacity to continue to regulate the economic standards properly. As part of this, the Government must first assess the regulator’s capacity now to understand the complex financial and corporate structures …
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We urge the Government and the Regulator of Social Housing to make sure the latter has the resourcing, skills and capacity to continue to regulate the economic standards properly. As part of this, the Government must first assess the regulator’s capacity now to understand the complex financial and corporate structures proliferating in the sector. We also recommend that it keep an open mind about increasing the regulator’s powers to regulate the economic standards, even if this would mean the sector being reclassified. In particular, we recommend that the Government give the regulator more of a role in monitoring mergers to ensure tenants, not shareholders, are at the centre of any decision to restructure.
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Government response AI summary
The government states that they will seek to ensure they have the capacity and skills to continue to regulate the economic standards robustly and keep pace with the evolving challenges faced by the sector.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
49
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
The removal of the ‘serious detriment’ test will make it much easier for the regulator to inspect providers proactively and to survey properties where it has reason to suspect serious disrepair. We welcome this development as perhaps the most important reform of the consumer regulatory regime. We appreciate that proactively …
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The removal of the ‘serious detriment’ test will make it much easier for the regulator to inspect providers proactively and to survey properties where it has reason to suspect serious disrepair. We welcome this development as perhaps the most important reform of the consumer regulatory regime. We appreciate that proactively surveying properties could be burdensome, if done on a large scale, but we do not think the regulator should limit itself to using its powers to survey only reactively.
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Government response AI summary
The government welcomes the Committee's recommendations regarding their role and will carefully consider them as they continue to develop their approach to proactive consumer regulation.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
50
Recommendation
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We urge the regulator to publish details as soon as possible of how it plans to use its enhanced regulatory powers under the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, particularly those on inspections and surveys, and to place them at the centre of its new proactive regime for regulating the consumer standards. …
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We urge the regulator to publish details as soon as possible of how it plans to use its enhanced regulatory powers under the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, particularly those on inspections and surveys, and to place them at the centre of its new proactive regime for regulating the consumer standards. Even if it only commits to using its power to survey reactively, we urge it to use the power to provide immediate relief to tenants forced to live with serious disrepair.
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Government response AI summary
The government welcomes the Committee’s recommendations regarding their role, will carefully consider them as they continue to develop their approach to proactive consumer regulation.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
51
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
Whilst understanding the advantages of a relatively light touch regulatory regime, we still find the regulator to be extremely reticent and passive in its use of its enforcement powers. It is appropriate for the regulator to punish providers responsible for the most serious service failures. If used sparingly, the power …
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Whilst understanding the advantages of a relatively light touch regulatory regime, we still find the regulator to be extremely reticent and passive in its use of its enforcement powers. It is appropriate for the regulator to punish providers responsible for the most serious service failures. If used sparingly, the power to impose fines would have a negligible impact on the sector’s financial position. The fact that the Government is legislating through the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill to remove the cap on fines suggests it agrees with us that the regulator should be fining providers, at least in the most serious cases of service failure.
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Government response AI summary
The government welcomes the Committee’s views on the Regulator’s independence, noting that it operates at arm’s length and determines how to exercise its powers.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
55
Conclusion
First Report - The Regulation of Social…
Acknowledged
We are concerned that potentially extremely vulnerable residents in receipt of unregulated support services do not currently benefit from the protection of regulation by the Care Quality Commission. We are encouraged by the Government’s stated commitment to improving standards in supported housing, but it is impossible to say from the …
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We are concerned that potentially extremely vulnerable residents in receipt of unregulated support services do not currently benefit from the protection of regulation by the Care Quality Commission. We are encouraged by the Government’s stated commitment to improving standards in supported housing, but it is impossible to say from the few details provided so far whether the proposals will go far enough. We will return to this subject in our upcoming report on exempt accommodation. (Paragraph 213) 78 The Regulation of Social Housing
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Government response AI summary
The government recognizes that some supported housing residents are particularly vulnerable, and is committed to improving standards and quality of supported housing. They have announced a package of measures and will respond to the Committee's upcoming report on exempt accommodation in due course.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government