Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Accepted
Paragraph: 45
Necessary fire safety work imposes significant additional costs on social housing providers.
Conclusion
Necessary fire safety work has resulted in significant additional costs for social housing providers, as the Government has acknowledged in its written evidence.
Government Response Summary
The government describes existing regulatory standards and inspections by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) that ensure social housing providers have appropriate expertise and financial management capabilities to handle complex issues, without committing to new action regarding additional fire safety costs.
Paragraph Reference:
45
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
20. We welcome the committee’s recognition of the importance of providers having individuals with sufficient expertise in the financial models the provider is using. Our Governance and Financial Viability Standard sets out our expectations that providers manage their affairs with appropriate skill and foresight and the assurance we seek on board capability takes account of the level of complexity in the business that the board needs to have oversight of. Our Code of Practice expands on the standard to outline our expectation that providers regularly assess whether boards and management have the right competencies, experience, and technical knowledge appropriate to the size, scale and risk profile of the organisation. We use a variety of mechanisms to gather assurance on this. Our inspections (and previously In Depth Assessments), which cover large for-profit providers, explore this when considering a provider’s governance grading. Our responsive work has also uncovered examples where providers have not demonstrated this and this has been reflected in external publications. The role of the Regulator if a housing provider defaulted