City of Westminster (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Westminster City Council becomes the first London local authority to receive the highest rating from the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) for its services.
The Labour-run council’s efforts in managing repairs, its lettings policy, and ensuring that all of its housing stock complies with health and safety regulations were commended by the RSH.
After an inspection earlier this month, the RSH has now given the council its first rating. The C1 rating, according to Cllr. Liza Begum, Cabinet Member for Housing Services, is an “important validation” of the council’s efforts.
In order to make sure social housing landlords, like councils, are adhering to consumer rules, the RSH was given further authority and enforcement last year.
In October, Newham Council made news when it received the worst rating possible from The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH)—C4—for “very serious failings.” Among these was the fact that some homes had not undergone electrical testing in over 11 years.
It is far more reassuring to read the report on Westminster City Council, which owns almost 12,000 properties. The RSH gave the local government its highest C1 rating.
In addition to talking with renters and council members and looking at a variety of papers, the RSH’s inspection involved attending three tenant meetings and a committee meeting.
It concluded that the council had demonstrated mechanisms to protect tenants’ health and safety in their residences and common places, as well as instances of how it had learned from past problems.
The council’s housing stock records were also commended by the regulator, who anticipates a comprehensive condition survey in July.
The report went on to say that 95% of its homes currently satisfy the Decent homes Standard, with a plan in place to reach 100%. The council’s capacity to collaborate with partners to address problems like anti-social behavior (ASB) and its repairs and maintenance service were also praised for fulfilling standards.
“There is evidence of Westminster CC using the information it holds about its tenants to tailor services to meet tenants’ diverse needs and deliver fair and equitable outcomes,”
the RSH wrote.
The RSH added that it has made significant investment in programmes to enhance its understanding of who is living in its homes and how it identifies, logs and responds to additional support needs.
Clear and accessible information is provided to tenants about Westminster CC’s services and performance, allowing tenants to access information and scrutinise how well Westminster CC is delivering those services.
According to Cllr David Harvey, the housing lead for the opposition Conservative party, the council was rated as “one of the top housing authorities in the country” by the previous Audit Commission while the Tories were in power. In 2015, the Audit Commission was shut down.
He congratulated council officers ‘who have maintained this standard’, adding:
“But Westminster’s Labour administration also needs to acknowledge that there are still far too many individual cases that are not dealt with properly, which can be seen by the all too frequent rulings from the Housing Ombudsman.”
The RSH report, according to Cllr. Begum, is welcomed by the local authority since it “showcases the significant progress we’ve made in improving our housing services over recent years.”
She continued that this C1 rating provides an important validation of the steps we have taken to improve the leadership, governance and performance of our housing services and reflects the achievements so far.
However, they know that there is still much to do to ensure residents receive the best possible service, and we fully acknowledge that this result does not mean we always get everything right.
She added:
“Our improvement plans are still underway, and we will continue to work closely with residents, tenant management organisations and partners to drive continuous improvement.
We’re committed to listening to residents and acting on their feedback to ensure all our tenants have a safe, secure and well-maintained home.
Thank you to all the residents, staff, and partners who contributed to the inspection process. The feedback that we have received has been key in helping us deliver better homes, and services across Westminster.”
What specific improvements did Westminster City council make to achieve the C1 grading?
The council launched a massive housing repair program in the spring of 2023. The goals of this project were to improve repairs, handle complaints, and assist individuals who were at risk.
The objective of the initiative was to enhance the frontline service offering, which included expanding the number of service centers to make them more accessible to locals.
The council placed a strong emphasis on resident involvement, making sure that tenant input influenced service enhancements. During the RSH inspection, this involved going to resident engagement meetings.
To help residents with extra support needs in navigating services and bringing up repair issues, a Customer Advocacy Team was formed.
In order to provide efficient supervision and decision-making procedures, the council enhanced its governance and leadership frameworks. As part of this, its control system was strengthened to effectively manage strategic risks.