Opinion: Try to remember the kind of September

By Alistair McIntosh, HQN CEO

I was away last week, swimming with the pigs of Atokos. In my absence, those workaholics at the RSH put out two new inspection reports. Let’s take a look at them.

Melton Borough Council rose from a C2 grade as of August two years ago to C1 now. Well done. How did they get there? Here’s what the RSH is saying:

• There’s now “tenant led engagement…linked to governance and decision-making”
• The data from a “full tenant census” is being used to “inform service design and delivery”
• “Learning from complaints is now embedded”
• “Now publishes regular performance information in accessible formats”
• Using data and transactional surveys to analyse trends and deal with ASB hotspots
• “Identifies when issues occur and puts plans in place to remedy and minimise recurrence.”

Melton was going to be part of a bigger unitary council for Leicestershire and Rutland from 2028. It would have been great to enter into that with a C1 grade. But local government reorganisation is on the backburner for now. We wait to see what ministers will do next.

Look Ahead Care and Support scored C2 at its first inspection. The RSH reports that the association manages around 1,800 homes. To do this they need about 1,200 full-time equivalent staff. That’s one member of staff for every one and a half homes. These numbers give us a feel for the intensity of the task here. They offer plenty of support. By way of contrast, the largest housing association, Clarion, has only one member of staff for every 26 homes. It’s quite the task to judge such a wide range of landlords on the one scale.

Let’s look at how the C2 breaks down. The RSH has lots of praise for the association:

• “Accurate and up-to-date record of condition of homes” – uses this to drive investment decisions
• “Effective efficient and timely repairs, maintenance and planned improvements service” – tenants’ information is used to tailor this service (nonetheless, Look Ahead must improve the information it holds on tenants protected characteristics and vulnerabilities)
• “Supports its tenants to sustain their tenancies”
• “Tenant feedback is used to improve service outcomes and influence decision-making”
• “Complaints are addressed fairly, promptly and effectively” – using learning from complaints to improve services.

So, why is Look Ahead on C2? The main reason, according to the RSH press release, is about health and safety compliance.

The first paragraph of the C rating report is intriguing.

“Look Ahead needs to improve its processes to ensure it is compliant with health and safety requirements. Look Ahead was unable to evidence board assurance over compliance with the legally required timescales to investigate, identify and repair hazards like damp and mould. While this represented a weakness in assurance arrangements, we were able to gain evidence that this is not currently having a significant impact on service outcomes for tenants.”

What does that mean? It seems like a big gap in assurance is having no real impact on the service. Does the RSH think that the board is riding its luck? The RSH will be “engaging” until Look Ahead plugs the gap.