Regulatory Notice: Cornwall Council (28 July 2021)
Published 28 July 2021
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2021
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-judgement-cornwall-council/regulatory-notice-cornwall-council-28-july-2021
RSH Regulatory Notice
- Provider: Cornwall Council
- Regulatory code: 00HE
- Publication date: 28 July 2021
- Governance grade: N/A
- Viability grade: N/A
- Reason for publication: Consumer Standards
- Regulatory route: Reactive Engagement
Other providers included in the judgement
- Cornwall Housing Limited 4570
Regulatory Finding
The regulator has concluded that:
a) Cornwall Council has breached part 1.2 of the Home Standard; and
b) As a consequence of this breach, there was the potential for serious detriment to Cornwall Council’s tenants.
The regulator will work with Cornwall Council as it seeks to remedy this breach and will continue to consider what further action should be taken.
The Case
As a local authority registered provider, Cornwall Council is required to comply with the consumer standards, including the Home Standard. The Home Standard requires registered providers to have a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service and to meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of occupants in their homes.
Our assessment of the information received through a self-referral from Cornwall Council is that the Council has failed to meet statutory health and safety requirements in relation to fire, electrical, asbestos and water safety.
In respect of fire safety, Cornwall Council has a statutory duty[footnote 1] to regularly assess the risk of fire and to take precautions to prevent the risk of fire. In this regard the regulator has learned that around 90% of applicable buildings do not have a current fire risk assessment (FRA). There were also hundreds of remedial actions identified in FRAs carried out between 2016 and 2018 that had not been completed.
With regard to electrical safety, Cornwall Council is required to ensure that electrical installations are in working and safe condition both at the start of any tenancy and throughout that tenancy. [footnote 2] The evidence from Cornwall Council shows that there are hundreds of properties which had not had an electrical inspection within the last ten years, and inspections were also overdue for around almost a hundred communal areas in properties.
For asbestos safety,[footnote 3] Cornwall Council has reported hundreds of remedial actions overdue in its communal areas. With regards to water safety, [footnote 4] hundreds of remedial actions were also overdue or outstanding. For these reasons, the regulator concluded that Cornwall Council has breached the Home Standard, and as a consequence, there was the potential for serious detriment to tenants.
Cornwall Council has been working with an external consultant to undertake data reconciliation and develop and implement an action plan in order to strengthen its systems and return to compliance. A programme of work has commenced, and we have been assured by Cornwall Council that it has taken appropriate action to ensure the safety of tenants while the programme is being delivered.
The Regulator’s Findings
The regulator considered the case as a potential breach of part 1.2 of the Home Standard and has concluded that Cornwall Council did not have effective systems in place to allow it to meet its statutory health and safety responsibilities across a range of areas.
Complying with statutory health and safety requirements is a fundamental responsibility of all registered providers because of the potential for serious harm to tenants. Cornwall Council has demonstrated to the regulator the progress it is making to ensure the required statutory checks, and relevant safety actions, are completed, and that appropriate mitigations are in place in the meantime. However, taking into account the seriousness of the issues, the durations for which tenants were potentially exposed to risk, and the number of tenants potentially affected, the regulator has concluded that it is proportionate to find that Cornwall Council has breached the Home Standard and that there was a risk of serious detriment to tenants during this period.
Section 198A of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (as amended) states that the regulator’s regulatory and enforcement powers may be used if a registered provider has failed to meet a consumer standard. In order to use regulatory or enforcement powers, as well as the failure to meet the standard, there should also be reasonable grounds to suspect that the failure has resulted in a serious detriment to the provider’s tenants (or potential tenants) or that there is a significant risk that, if no action is taken by the regulator, the failure will result in a serious detriment to the provider’s tenants (or potential tenants).
Cornwall Council has put in place a programme to rectify these failures and the regulator will therefore not take statutory action at this stage, as it has assurance that the breach of the standard is being remedied. The regulator will work with the Council as it continues to address the issues which have led to this situation, including ongoing monitoring of how it delivers its programme.
About our Regulatory Notices
Regulatory notices are issued in response to an event of regulatory importance (for example, a finding of a breach of the Rent Standard or of a consumer standard that has or may cause serious harm) that, in accordance with its obligation to be transparent, the regulator wishes to make public. More detail about Regulatory notices is set out in ‘Regulating the Standards.’
Key to Grades
Governance:
- G1 (Compliant): The provider meets our governance requirements
- G2 (Compliant): The provider meets our governance requirements but needs to improve some aspects of its governance arrangements to support continued compliance
- G3 (Non-compliant): The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and in agreement with us the provider is working to improve its position.
- G4 (Non-compliant): The provider does not meet our governance requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.
Viability:
- V1 (Compliant): The provider meets our viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with a wide range of adverse scenarios.
- V2 (Compliant): The provider meets our viability requirements. It has the financial capacity to deal with a reasonable range of adverse scenarios but needs to manage material risks to ensure continued compliance.
- V3 (Non-compliant): The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and, in agreement with us, the provider is working to improve its position.
- V4 (Non-compliant): The provider does not meet our viability requirements. There are issues of serious regulatory concern and the provider is subject to regulatory intervention or enforcement action.