GTI: Phase 2 – focus on social housing

On Chris’ first full pass through the Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 Report, he focussed on the implications for social housing providers.

In parts 4 and 5, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, Ali Akbor, and Thouria Istephen give a detailed (200 page) account of the tenant management organization and the management of fire safety at the tower.

The report indicates that the new powers given to the Regulator of Social Housing in the Social Housing Act 2023 substantively address the concerns relating to social housing providers.

However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t action required. The Regulator of Social Housing has already acted on consumer standards and these include safety. Housing providers must keep up with these changes.

Some of the key findings regarding the Tenant Management Organization that are also very relevant to social housing providers include:

1. Fire safety was given insufficient attention by the board and senior leaders lacked proper experience (para 31.54 and several others). If there is any truth in this still in your organization, of course, deal with it now. But also think more widely – of course we need to address fire safety, but what else? What about the structure? Damp and mould? Other hazardous materials? Do you know?
2. Inadequate resourcing coupled with inadequate management processes are called out (para 31.27, 31.34, 31.40 and several others). The organizations we’re working with directly have recognized that some of these issues aren’t cheap to fully remediate, and over the last few years have been investing in getting ahead of this and ready for the future, not just the current requirements. But we do hear of other cases where the recognition of the importance of even basic competencies like data management isn’t there yet – these aren’t being measured, let alone prioritized.
3. The clarity given to reminding us that the goal here is to make the resident safe. That means making the building safe, but that is a necessary not sufficient condition. The report identifies and recommends that the height (and number of floors) based current definition be reviewed urgently to, amongst other things, consider the use of the building and presence of vulnerable people (para 113.7). Keeping track of residents’ vulnerabilities in this way can be challenging for a social housing provider, and the report calls for precisely this.
4. Inadequacies in the performance management processes, and in particular the audit elements (para 32.26) were identified. Whilst this doesn’t affect all social housing providers, those with care homes and certain other residential settings who have outsourced the service delivery may want to take note. The buildings used in these agreements typically house some of the most vulnerable people, so the reflections above (3) are highly relevant.