Agenda item

The purpose of the report is to update the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee on the progress made so far as a consequence of the Council’s self-referral in April 2025 to the Regulator of Social Housing.

The Chair welcomed Tom Cattermole (Corporate Director Housing and Resident Services) and Gary Mitchell (Head of Housing Property Services) to the meeting, who he advised had been invited to provide the Committee with an update on the progress made as a result of the Council’s self -referral to the Regulator of Social Housing.  Members noted the report followed an initial update provided for the Committee in April and September 2025 and provided details about the ongoing engagement with the Regulator of Social Housing and the progress of the housing service improvement programme.

In presenting the update, the Committee noted:

·            The background and context to the initial self referral to the Regulator for Social Housing in relation to the compliance arrangements relating to building safety and stock condition, which had resulted in the Regulator of Social Housing having subsequently issued a regulatory judgement grading Brent’s Housing Management Service as C3.

·            The work subsequently undertaken by the Council to appoint health and safety advisors that specialised in building safety and assisting landlords in meeting the requirements and outcomes set out in the Social Housing (Regulations) Act 2023, in particular the Quality and Safety Standard, who had completed an initial assessment of the council’s compliance arrangements against the 8 main areas of compliance.  These contractors were also now supporting ongoing improvement work, providing additional objective and independent oversight, as well building safety expertise.

·            In support of this work, and as additional assurance, Caldiston Ltd had also been engaged to undertake an independent forensic audit across all key compliance workstreams (including fire, gas, electrical, water, asbestos and decent homes requirements) which had been completed in August 2025. The audit involved desktop reviews, staff interviews and validation of data from multiple systems in use by the service and had been aligned with concerns, which had further validated the referral to the regulator, confirming that there were significant systemic issues, particularly in data management, governance, and policy implementation. The overall outcome of the audit had been that the Housing Management Service had inadequate assurance in relation to managing building safety and compliance with key recommendations including developing a comprehensive compliance framework, resolving data integrity issues, closing overdue fire risk assessment actions, establishing central registers for smoke and CO detectors and providing staff training on compliance processes.  It had also been recommended that dashboards for real-time KPI monitoring be implemented with further alignment of the Strategic Risk Register with actual risks.

In seeking to assure members, in terms of the response, the Committee was advised that the findings from the audit had highlighted and clarified several areas that the service had already identified as requiring focus as well as some additional key learning. These findings had fed into the development of a robust action plan for improvement which included root cause analysis (as recommended by The Regulator) to ensure permanent solutions were implemented to prevent similar issues arising in the future and on which progress would also be monitored by the newly established Housing and Tenant Improvement Programme Board.  Following on from the audit, work was underway to systematically review each compliance stream, starting with Gas.  This would confirm the properties falling in or out of scope along with the reason with it noted that the figures were intended to provide a baseline from which to identify improvements as validation work progressed although it was recognised this would result in the reported asset numbers changing as properties were validated and confirmed in work streams with percentages also fluctuating due to the approach.  The data correction work was also highlighted as not only limited to Council owned properties but also expanded to tenants in all Council properties e.g. leaseholders, i4B and FWH tenants etc in order to ensure a consistent, council-wide approach designed to strengthen both safety and assurance moving forward.

·            In addition to the reflective audit work, the opportunity was also taken to highlight the ongoing work being undertaken by the service in seeking to drive forward further improvements at pace designed to strengthen oversight and provide re-assurance for tenants.  This included the onboarding of additional contractors to expedite the completion of works as a consequence of Fire Risk Assessments, with it confirmed that as of 1 September all outstanding high-risk fire actions in high-rise blocks had been satisfactorily addressed; either closed with evidence, completed and closed with evidence or work booked alongside the rebuild of the True Compliance and the NEC asset register, due to be complete by April 2026 with work around safety certification also now being progressed in relation to gas and electrical compliance.

Additional governance had also been implemented around the management of data, in particular restricting property creation access to provide a more controlled approach to new properties being added to the system and feeding into compliance workstreams accurately.  Significant progress had also been made in addressing the data issues highlighted within the audit report, involving a focus on validating ownership and the council’s compliance responsibilities for all properties on the Housing Database which had been identified as essential to build confidence in the data held and provide a reliable foundation for future reporting as well as assurance in relation to risk mitigation measures.

·            In terms of oversight and resource to support the process, members were advised of the expansion of the Compliance Team following the recruitment of a Compliance and Contract Manager, dedicated electrical manager, Quality and Delivery Manager and Contract Officers, all with a focus on compliance and safety.  In addition, it was reported that the Housing & Tenant Satisfaction Improvement Board (chaired by the Chief Executive) which had been established with overall responsibility for providing governance and oversight by monitoring the progress of improvement initiatives and ensuring compliance with housing standard, had held its initial meeting in September 2025 with the Building Safety Compliance Project Board having also met in November 25 in order to oversee and drive initiatives aimed at improving the quality of housing services and increasing tenant satisfaction.

·            As a further update, members were advised that the Council had also accelerated its Stock Condition Survey program to 35% during the current financial year, splitting the remaining surveys between the next 2 years with a goal to reach 100% by March 2027.

In terms of ongoing engagement with the Regulator, the Committee was advised that monthly meetings continued to be held with senior managers which had resulted in a positive working relationship having been developed and the Regulator reported as being supportive and having welcomed the pace at which the Housing Management Service was working to enhance stock data and recover their position through the improvement programme.  This was also felt to reflect the upfront and honest approach taken by the Council in seeking to identify and address the work to be undertaken in as open and transparent a way as possible, whilst also recognising the commitment towards the enhanced oversight measures and structure which had been implemented to support the process and ensure the integrity of data being complied was assured and maintained.

As part of the wider approach outlined, the opportunity was also taken to outline the communication and engagement undertaken with tenants, which had also been recognised as a central part of the overall recovery plan.  This had included the development of a multi-channel engagement strategy designed to prioritise transparency and trust and keep all key stakeholder informed of progress and upcoming changes.  As part of the strategy The Noticeboard (council tenant and leaseholder newsletter) had been issued providing an update on building safety, re-iterating how to contact the service about building safety concerns and an overview of the new repairs contract (with a copy tabled for reference at the meeting).  This had been accompanied by an e-newsletter version including a video message from the Cabinet Member for Housing explaining the Regulator judgement and action taken in response which had reached over 7000 tenants and leaseholders.  In addition, the Council’s web content had been updated to include a list of FAQs with elected members also updated through the Members Bulletin and other briefings supported by regular progress updates for the Council Management Team and Cabinet Members.

As a final area of update, reference was also made to the financial position regarding the improvement and recovery programme given the potential impact of costs relating to major works and repairs on the long-term viability of the HRA Business Plan and limited level of government subsidy available to address changes in the Council’s stock portfolio along with additional requirements in relation to building standards, including fire safety works and decarbonisation and the increasing costs in undertaking major works.  As a result, members were advised that the specialists appointed to assist with the recovery of the compliance breaches, were currently undertaking an initial assessment of the situation with the intention of developing a recovery programme and setting out the anticipated costs and financial implications for further review.

Having completed presentation of the update the Chair thanked Tom Cattermole and Gary Mitchell for the detail provided and then moved on to invite questions and comments from the Committee, with the following comments and issues discussed:

·            As an opening comment details were sought on what was felt to have been the material impact of the compliance issues originally identified in relation to data integrity and whether this had resulted in specific hazards now having been identified following on from the initial assessment of the council’s compliance arrangements with a particular focus on fire risk assessment.  In outlining the initial position identified in relation to compliance relating to the data held on Fire Risk Assessments, Gary Mitchell assured members that the outstanding and missing assessments had now been completed with all outstanding high-risk fire actions in high-rise blocks having been satisfactorily addressed.  Whilst possible that some hazards may not have been picked up as a result of the initial data management and compliance issues identified, members were advised of the process now established to report and address anything which it was now felt would represent an immediate hazard as part of the ongoing improvement programme.

·            Additional clarification was also sought in relation to the financial impact and cost of the recovery programme, with reference made to the update provided as part of the Q3 Financial Monitoring update for Cabinet to remedial works relating to the improvement programme posing a risk to the Housing Revenue Account, given the challenges as a result of increasing costs and requirements in relation to the delivery of major works and repairs.  Taking into consideration costs for the appointment of the specialist consultants identified as well as additional resources within the new core compliance team, members were keen to identify the estimated financial impact of the addition compliance works identified as required.  In response, Minesh Patel (Corporate Director Finance and Resources) advised that for comparative purposes, a similar sized registered provider that had been in a comparable position to Brent, had spent £2.3m on their recovery programme.  Pending completion of the current initial assessment relating to development of the recovery programme the costs remained under constant review with budgetary provision available to manage the necessary compliance activity.

·            In response to a further query, clarification was provided regarding the selection and procurement process followed in relation to the appointment of Caldiston to provide independent forensic audit services in relation to the key compliance workstreams.  Members were advised that this had included an assessment of their relevant experience, availability and track record of work undertaken with other similar local authorities.

·            Clarification was then sought regarding the Regulators C3 judgement for Brent and risk in terms of this dropping any further.  In response, Gary Mitchell advised this was not felt to represent a significant risk based on the positive engagement with the Regulator to date in relation to Brent’s performance. The feedback received described Brent as progressing quickly and efficiently, with the Council commended for the approach undertaken in seeking to address the compliance issues identified and implement their improvement plan and commitment from senior management and members in support of the improvement journey from the outset along with progress achieved.  It was, however, noted that the improvement programme to be delivered would require a challenging and long term approach rather than quick fix, with it anticipated that the work required would take at least eighteen months to complete based on the objective of achieving a minimum C2 rating within that timescale.

·            Recognising the level of risk identified, further assurance was sought regarding the availability of resources available to support delivery of the improvement programme highlighting, as an example, the importance of the gas certificate checks and compliance being completed.  In response, Tom Cattermole felt it important to highlight and recognise the high level of organisational and political support provided as part of the improvement journey which had included the necessary financial resource being made available as well as investment to support the wider programme of improvements identified as required across the housing management service.  In terms of gas safety certification Gary Mitchell advised current compliance stood at 99.1% with those properties without valid certification continuing to proceed through the relevant legal process.  Whilst not complacent, performance and compliance were felt to be strong with officers confident that performance could be substantiated.

·            An update was also sought on progress in completion of the accelerated Stock Condition Survey program and range of properties to be covered.  In response, confirmation was provided that the Stock Condition Survey would cover all types of stock, with the accelerated programme now aiming to achieve 35% of all properties and the target to reach 100% completion by the end of 2027, now ahead of the previous schedule. This new date was also being used to inform Housing Health and Safety Rating System assessments and compliance with the Decent Homes standards.

·            In response to a further query, clarification was provided on the process for undertaking Fire Risk Assessments and impact on leaseholders should any additional works be identified as required with confirmation also provided regarding the type of blocks covered under the process.

·            In welcoming the transparency provided within the update, further details were sought on the engagement by tenants as a result of the enhanced engagement and communication strategy.  Whilst advising that further details could be provided as part of any future update, members were advised that tenants, whilst expressing concern at the position identified and potential impact on them, had welcomed the transparency provided.  In terms of the recently published Noticeboard, confirmation was provided that the e-version provided on the website included access to a translation tool as well as read-aloud functionality.  In addition, clarity was provided on the methods available for residents to make contact and report concerns along with the value generated through the FAQs as a means of addressing some of the most common issues and queries supported through the Council’s contact centre.

·            In acknowledging and welcoming the assurance provided as a result of the progress outlined, members were keen to ensure that future monitoring updates contained more quantitative data to assist in measuring the progression and delivery of key performance indicators within the improvement plan including planned completion timescales, work still to be delivery and performance relating to compliance screening.  In addition, an update was sought on progress with recruitment to the new compliance team structure in order to provide further assurance that the necessary resources were in place.  In response, Tom Cattermole advised members of the development of a comprehensive dashboard designed to monitor each compliance area and the progress being made in delivery of the improvement plan.  As a result, he advised members that future updates to the Committee could include an outline of the dashboard being used to monitor progress in delivery of the compliance framework, workstreams and associated KPIs including relevant timescales and details on the structure of resources to support the work being undertaken.

With no further issues raised, the Chair thanked Tom Cattermole and Gary Mitchell for the update provided and attending the meeting to respond to the comments raised in response. Highlighting the Committee’s support for the honest and transparent approach adopted and progress being made it was RESOLVED:

(1)    To note the progress being made by the Housing Management Service with regards to the compliance of its Housing stock, and the positive engagement with the Regulator for Social Housing following the self-referral process.

(2)    That future updates include an outline of the dashboard being used to monitor progress in delivery of the compliance framework, workstreams and associated KPIs including relevant timescales and details on the structure of resources to support the work being undertaken.

(3)    That a further progress update be provided at appropriate stage identified (within the next 6 months).