ALMO Did Not Carry Out Inspections After 2014 Report Into Broadwater Farm Defects

Homes for Haringey did not carry out an intrusive inspection on a high-rise tower, despite a report in 2014 warning doing so could uncover safety issues. Residents will be evacuated from Tangmere House on the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham due to longstanding issues with the safety of the block’s structure. But Inside Housing has obtained a document which shows a structural assessment of this block carried out in 2014 reported cracks in walls throughout the building. The report added: “Latent defects may exist in the structure which can only be discovered by a further more detailed investigation.” Read more on Inside Housing.

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Public Believes Housing Inspections Should Be In Hands Of Council

The majority of the public believes housing safety inspections should be in the hands of local councils, survey reveals. A survey for the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) found 59% of the public support council Building Inspections, and just 23.4% support private inspectors. The poll, which was carried out by market research agency Survation for APSE, was a ‘wake up call to Government’, APSE chief executive Paul O’Brien, told a housing fringe at the Labour Party conference. ‘The public clearly support a role for local councils in keeping residents safe,’ he said. Read more on the Local Gov website.

Funding Increase For Councils To Crack Down On ‘Cowboy’ Landlords

Councils will receive a £5m boost to help them tackle rogue landlords in their area, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has announced. The extra money will be divided between 48 councils in order to provide them with the means to take on landlords who force tenants to live in squalid and dangerous properties. The funding will allow for more raids, an increase in property inspections, statutory notices, and street surveys. It will also pay for the demolishing of ‘beds in sheds’ and prohibited buildings. The new funding will be included in a raft of proposals designed to protect private renters in the Housing and Planning Bill. Read more on the Local Government website.

ALMO Looks Set For Chop

England’s largest ALMO is set to be axed despite achieving the best inspection results in the country. Councillors are planning to scrap Sheffield Homes, which has managed Sheffield Council’s 42,000 homes since 2004. Cabinet members agreed at a meeting that the council’s ‘preferred option’ is to move housing management in-house. The authority will now conduct a non-binding ballot of tenants and make a final decision in March. The ALMO has been awarded the maximum three-star rating from the Audit Commission three times. But the report to cabinet said an inhouse service offers scope for significant savings without affecting frontline services, and would also bring back direct responsibility between members, staff and tenants. Read more on the Sheffield City Council website.

New Approach to Social Housing Inspection Announced

A new approach to social housing inspection has been announced by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) following the conclusion of a consultation. The Regulator received overwhelmingly positive responses to the proposals and has therefore decided to implement the approach to inspections outlined in the consultation. The main features of the new approach to social housing inspection are:
• Inspections are no longer routine: The Regulator will only use its power in order to investigate where there is reason to believe a provider may be seriously failing TSA standards or regulatory requirements
• The TSA will draw up a bespoke brief to specify the scope of an inspection, so Audit Commission key lines of enquiry (KLOE) will no longer be used for housing services inspections
• This brief will require the inspectors to provide clear evidence of whether there has been a failure of a standard or regulatory requirement
• The TSA will decide the final judgment on the fact of a breach and whether the failure is serious
• Where failure is identified, in most cases the Regulator would expect to publish the inspection report, subject to any applicable exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act. The TSA’s published regulatory judgments will normally reflect the findings of an inspection commissioned by the TSA. Read more on the TSA website.

TSA: Inspection Fears

Concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of regulator the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) after it emerged the body has only requested 10 inspections of social landlords since it took on responsibility for overseeing housing in April 2010. The previous regulator, the Audit Commission, typically ordered 140 inspections every year. The TSA has been under increased financial pressure after it emerged the communities and local government department had cut its budget by 40% to £17million, ahead of its absorption into the Homes and Communities Agency early next year.

Shapps Ends 'Waste Of Money' Strategic Housing Inspections

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced the abolition of Strategic Housing Inspections. Mr Shapps told council leaders that he has asked the Audit Commission not to commission any more. "Quite frankly I think they were a waste of your residents' money - nearly one and a half million pounds of the public's cash was going to be spent this year making you work to Whitehall's priorities - not your residents," he said. "We will also be throwing the inefficient and unfair Housing Revenue Account system in the bin." Mr Shapps is urging councils to move away from Whitehall control and make the most of the new freedoms they have been given. Read more on 24dash.

Joint Statement by the TSA and Audit Commission on Interim Arrangements

This statement confirms that the TSA and the Audit Commission have decided that the arrangements for commissioned inspections should continue until April 2011. The statement is applicable to nearly 1,800 social housing providers in England, including housing associations, councils, including those with ALMOs and co-operatives. Read the statement on the Audit Commission website.

ALMOs Best Performers – Audit Commission

As well as identifying individual examples of positive practice and innovation, the Audit Commission also highlights those organisations which deliver very strong all round performance in individual service areas. The Audit Commission has produced a list of ALMOs and ALMO services which have performed best in inspections during the last three years. They are divided into various categories, including:
• Access and customer care.
• Diversity.
• Value for money.
• Resident involvement.
• Capital improvement, planned and cyclical maintenance.
• Responsive repairs.
Read the full list on the Audit Commission website.

Audit Commission ALMO Inspections – PWA

Rushanara Ali MP: What inspection rating has the Audit Commission given to each arm's length management organisation since 2001?
Robert Neill MP: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
Letter from Eugene Sullivan, dated 28 June 2010:
Since 2001, the Audit Commission has published the ratings of 136 ALMOs. The ratings have been produced following an inspection, required by Government, to allow access to capital funding if service provision is assessed as good (two star) or better. The ALMOs are then re-inspected to assess if the ALMO has maintained, or reached, a good {two star) standard of service provision.

Statement by the TSA & Audit Commission on Interim Arrangements

The Audit Commission and the TSA have issued a joint statement setting out the interim arrangements for all TSA commissioned inspections taking place between April and October 2010. The statement builds on the TSA's new regulatory framework, which sets out six national standards which social housing landlords will need to meet and sets out how the TSA will commission, and the Audit Commission undertake, inspections. Read the full statement on the TSA website.

Audit Commission Inspection Programme 2010/11

The Audit Commission has published its housing inspection programme for councils, ALMOs and housing associations in 2010/11. The programme contains details of 'full' inspections (as opposed to short notice) and states who will be inspected when. Due to the ongoing short notice inspection programme, there are noticeably fewer inspections programmed in areas regulated by the TSA. Find links to the various inspection programmes on the Audit Commission website.