Council tenants left at serious risk over health and safety failures

The Regulator of Social Housing said there was “the potential for serious detriment” to tenants over breaches with regards to fire, heating appliances, electrical and asbestos safety.

The damning findings revealed that more than 1,000 remedial actions identified in fire risk assessments carried out in 2017 had not been completed.

There had also been failings in ensuring that fuel heating appliances did not pose a risk to tenants, while no communal areas had had an electrical inspection.

Moreover, just under half of all the properties had out of date inspections, some of which were more than 10 years old.

For asbestos safety, South Kesteven had reported that nearly 300 surveys of communal areas were overdue and should have been completed in 2019.

For these reasons it was concluded that South Kesteven - which had referred itself to the regulator - had “failed to meet statutory health and safety requirements” and breached Home Standards, which require registered providers to social housing to have a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service.

However, the regulator decided against taking statutory action as “since identifying these issues South Kesteven DC has strengthened its senior capacity and is developing an action plan to address the underlying weaknesses in its systems”.

It added: “A programme of work has commenced and we have been assured by South Kesteven DC that it has taken immediate and appropriate action to ensure the safety of tenants while the programme is being delivered.”

Karen Bradford, chief executive of South Kesteven District Council, said: “My focus is delivering a housing service that our tenants can be proud of and I am sorry that, in the past, our service has fallen short of the high standard they deserve.

“It is, of course, disappointing that the council has received a regulatory notice, although it is encouraging that the regulator outlines the action that we are already taking to improve our service. Going forward, we will continue working closely with the regulator and ensuring that our tenants are updated and supported throughout.”

The self-referral from the council to the regulator was in response to the findings of an in-depth audit commissioned by the leader of the council, Cllr Kelham Cooke, Ms Bradford and cabinet member for housing and planning Cllr Robert Reid.

Cllr Reid said: “Commissioning the audit was an important step in turning around our housing service for our tenants, whose wellbeing and safety is our fundamental priority.

“The findings identified numerous weaknesses in our systems and processes and the council has been working extremely hard to address these areas.

“Over the last few months the council has put in place many measures as part of its housing action plan. These include providing a dedicated team to respond to queries, implementing new systems and processes to ensure repairs and inspections are managed more effectively, commissioning a comprehensive survey of its housing stock and ensuring that it has the right team in place to manage the housing service.”

The council has also recruited a new director of housing and property, Andrew Cotton, who has more than 20 years’ experience in social housing and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

He will join the council in the coming months from Melton Borough Council where he was director of housing and communities.

Cllr Cooke added: “Excellent progress has been made so far but there is much more that the council will be doing to drive up standards. The appointment of Andrew Cotton, who has exceptional experience in leading high-performing housing teams, is a key step in delivering a housing service that we will all be proud of.”