Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Rejected
The patchwork regulation of exempt accommodation has too many holes.
Recommendation
The patchwork regulation of exempt accommodation has too many holes. We recognise that the exempt accommodation sector is complex with different types of providers, therefore requiring the involvement of multiple regulators. But some providers do not fall under the remit of any regulator, and no regulator has complete oversight of the different elements of exempt accommodation. Later in this report we recommend that all providers be registered, which would mean their oversight of economic and consumer standards was undertaken by the Regulator of Social Housing. We are particularly concerned about the fact that the “care, support, or supervision” element is unregulated except in the specific and limited circumstances where it falls within the Care Quality Commission’s remit. We welcome the Government’s commitment to exploring the regulatory regime to identify whether there are any gaps—but evidence to us expressed total unanimity as to the fact that gaps exist. (Paragraph 58) Exempt Accommodation 47
Government Response Summary
The government believes the measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill are better placed to provide oversight and control, rather than ensuring mandatory registration for all providers with the Regulator of Social Housing; they also say that reclassifying social housing providers as public sector bodies would burden the government with debt.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
55. Measures in the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill will improve the oversight of providers of supported housing. Licensing schemes will enable local authorities to better control standards in their area and we have also committed to consult on additional measures to ensure compliance with national standards for support. 56. We should be clear that it is not within the remit of the Regulator of Social Housing (‘the regulator’) to look at the quality of support provided in exempt accommodation. 57.T he regulator sets out in its guidance on registration that becoming a registered provider is a significant undertaking. The regulator needs to satisfy itself that providers can meet the registration criteria which are linked to the regulatory standards. All applicants must meet the Governance and Financial Viability Standards at the point of registration and demonstrate they have the capacity to meet the other regulatory standards and maintain compliance with all the standards on an ongoing basis. The regulator recognizes the amount of information and evidence provided by applicants will reflect their size and business models. It anticipates that more complex or riskier models will need to provide additional information and evidence to demonstrate compliance. Thorough registration requirements are therefore necessary to ensure that, regardless of size or business model, a provider can meet the regulatory standards and provide good quality homes and services once registered. 58. Most providers of social housing do choose to register, including nearly all large providers which own or manage 95% of the social stock in England. Mandating all providers of social housing to register with the regulator poses the risk of the sector being reclassified as public due to the significant increase in regulatory control. This already happened in 2015 when the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reclassified Private Registered Providers (PRPs) as public sector bodies. Regulation was subsequently amended to reduce control of the sector, reinstating PRPs’ private classification. Reclassification would burden the Government with taking on the sector’s debt, which stands at £90bn. Social housing landlords may also be restricted in their access to funding and their ability to build new homes. 59. Overall, we consider the proposed measures in the Bill to be better placed to provide oversight and control over the supported housing sector, rather than ensuring mandatory registration for all providers with the Regulator of Social Housing. 60. In the private rented sector, we will ensure non-social housing providers - whether private rented, or private rented sector-leased, or ‘non-social’ (supported housing where the accommodation is owned or provided by a registered provider but is not let at social rent) are covered – including by the Decent Homes Standard. Further details will be set out in due course.