The new regulatory regime will be a culture shock for councils

Published by ‘Inside Housing magazine’ 21/12/2020. 
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​The Social Housing White Paper represents a big change but we should fully support a new, more standardised system of assessing tenants’ satisfaction, says Simone Chinman Russell
    
In my previous couple of columns, I have unsurprisingly been focusing on the pandemic. Not only has coronavirus had a significant impact on our housing services here at Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, but I have become involved in helping to address a much broader range of challenges in my capacity as corporate director.

Since March, I have been juggling the competing demands of a 9,000-home landlord service and housing development programme, with our corporate, borough-wide response to the pandemic, from managing homelessness and bringing ‘everyone in’ to supporting the efforts of the county-wide resilience forum and implementing the government’s various COVID plans and policies.

However, I have been feeling a bit detached from my housing roots and I have to admit that the publication of the housing white paper – the much-anticipated Charter for Social Housing Residents – has put a spring in my step. A new challenge!
 
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I guess most readers out there will think I’m a bit strange. Few people welcome additional regulation and closer scrutiny. I remember all too clearly my pre-council days, when the last thing I did for my previous housing association employer was to co-ordinate our short-notice Audit Commission inspection – hands up if you remember those!

However, I do feel that no one can argue with the principles set out in the white paper. It will also certainly help me and other colleagues up and down the country to press the ‘reset’ button, challenging us to critically assess our own services.

“If the new framework can prevent another Grenfell, we should embrace it”

I appreciate that there will be differing views and that some may consider the white paper to be somewhat paternalistic, passing harsh judgement on our sector, which largely is only trying to do its very best in challenging circumstances. But I take great comfort in the fact that residents have been listened to in the white paper and if the new framework can prevent another Grenfell, we should embrace it.

I get the point about needing to provide a consistent approach to performance management and reporting. Having worked in the housing association, ALMO and local authority sectors, it is clear to me that there is a disparity in how the regulatory regime works across different types of organisation. This needs to be addressed, to create a level playing field for tenants, regardless of who their landlord is.

To this end, I feel it is right that a more proactive regulatory approach is on the horizon for consumer standards. I hope that the new framework will facilitate better consistency in how performance metrics are reported and interpreted, so that genuine accountability and benchmarking is possible.

Finding a balance between creating consistency, while having regard for the rich diversity of our sector, will be a challenge. But ultimately governance arrangements in all organisations should be fit for ensuring that tenants do not lose out because of who their landlord is.

“Our scrutiny is mainly delivered by elected members, not the regulator”

This will particularly be the case now that the scrutiny of local authorities’ performance will be more closely aligned to that of private registered providers. I believe the new regime will present a bigger culture shock for local authorities, which have not been subject to proactive regulatory visits since the demise of the Audit Commission housing inspection regime.

Local authorities, like our housing association counterparts, promote residents’ involvement in scrutinising services. But our scrutiny is mainly delivered by elected members, not the regulator.

Moving forward I believe we should fully support a new, more standardised system of assessing tenants’ satisfaction. Consumer-friendly complaints processes are a fundamental right, especially where our customers have little choice and where our product, housing, is a basic human need.

The requirement that tenants wishing to escalate their complaint to the ombudsman had to do so via a ‘designated person’ created a barrier to swift and fair resolution of problems. Removing this barrier will have the effect of speeding things up and ‘keeping us on our toes’ in doing everything we can to satisfy and (dare I say it), even delight our customers with the least possible fuss.

With no clear ‘end date’ for this dreadful pandemic in sight, I appreciate that being encumbered with a heftier regulatory burden will not please everyone. But overriding this is my passion for equality, fairness and the right of everyone to live in a safe, well managed home in a healthy, attractive and secure environment. As such, I welcome the challenge that we have been set as a sector – and I hope I am not alone in this.

Source: Inside Housing - Comment - The new regulatory regime will be a culture shock for councils