Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of maladministration cases have been due to unreasonable delays from housing associations each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Housing Ombudsman’s adjudication on Complaint 202015630 about Clarion Housing Group’s handling of a repair for a disabled tenant and the recommendation that the organisation review its whole process and practice for dealing with the repairs of vulnerable tenants, if he will ask the Regulator for Social Housing (a) for what reason it didn’t identify those service failings in its own investigation in 2020 and 2021 and (b) whether vulnerable tenants were potentially incurring serious detriment as a result of Clarion’s flawed classification of their repairs as routine to be completed within 28 days.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Regulator of Social Housing's investigations in 2020 and 2021 did not identify systemic failures by Clarion and therefore did not find a breach of the regulatory standards or serious detriment. However, the Regulator has acknowledged and notified Clarion that it had identified individual incidents of service failure for Clarion to resolve. The Regulator does not have a role in resolving individual disputes between tenants and their landlords. Where the Regulator receives a referral from a tenant or representative for an individual matter, the Regulator will always signpost the tenant or representative to the Housing Ombudsman.
The Housing Ombudsman's role is to adjudicate on individual complaints from tenants about their landlords, and its investigation and adjudication on Complaint 202015630 was a resolution to an individual complaint.
Service failures can have a significant effect on tenants, and such failures should be remedied promptly and effectively by the landlord. Where a registered provider does not resolve the issues for the tenant, it is for the Housing Ombudsman to make orders and recommendations to put things right for the individual affected.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will meet with tenants and leaseholders of Clare House to discuss their concerns on Clarion Housing Group’s handling of the fire safety issues in their block and their subsequent decant into emergency accommodation.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Clarion Housing Group are the owners of Clare House and have responsibility for the safety of residents in the building. Clarion also has responsibility for providing residents with appropriate alternative accommodation in the event of an evacuation of the building. They have confirmed to the Department that they have released the information relied upon to evacuate the building. Clarion have also confirmed that they meet regularly with affected residents and have made a comprehensive offer of support which will include permanent alternative accommodation, along with interim support, for as long as it is required.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2021 to Question 60421 on Housing: Bethnal Green and Bow, whether tenants decanted from Clare House on an emergency basis by Clarion Housing Group will have to right to specify the area within Tower Hamlets they would be willing to accept as one of its three direct offers.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Clarion Housing Group are the owners of Clare House and have responsibility for the safety of residents in the building. Clarion also has responsibility for providing residents with appropriate alternative accommodation in the event of an evacuation of the building. They have confirmed to the Department that they have released the information relied upon to evacuate the building. Clarion have also confirmed that they meet regularly with affected residents and have made a comprehensive offer of support which will include permanent alternative accommodation, along with interim support, for as long as it is required.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answers of 25 October 2021 to Question 57038 on Social Rented Housing: Bethnal Green and Bow and 57041 on High Rise Flats: Safety, if he will ask Clarion Housing Group to report on the length of time it estimates the 122 tenants and leaseholders decanted from Clare House will have to spend in temporary accommodation before they are made offers of permanent accommodation.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Clarion Housing Group are the owners of Clare House and have responsibility for the safety of residents in the building. Clarion also has responsibility for providing residents with appropriate alternative accommodation in the event of an evacuation of the building. They have confirmed to the Department that they have released the information relied upon to evacuate the building. Clarion have also confirmed that they meet regularly with affected residents and have made a comprehensive offer of support which will include permanent alternative accommodation, along with interim support, for as long as it is required.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answers of 25 October 2021 to Question 57038 on Social Rented Housing: Bethnal Green and Bow and 57041 on High Rise Flats: Safety, if he will ask Clarion Housing Group to report its reasons for withholding the structural condition survey that was peer reviewed by Arup in August and September 2021 and which resulted in its Board deciding to urgently decant 122 tenants and leaseholders from Clare House on 29 September 2021.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Clarion Housing Group are the owners of Clare House and have responsibility for the safety of residents in the building. Clarion also has responsibility for providing residents with appropriate alternative accommodation in the event of an evacuation of the building. They have confirmed to the Department that they have released the information relied upon to evacuate the building. Clarion have also confirmed that they meet regularly with affected residents and have made a comprehensive offer of support which will include permanent alternative accommodation, along with interim support, for as long as it is required.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what budget (a) his Department or (b) the Homes and Communities Agency holds for contingency funding to provide financial support to a housing association facing a critical fire safety issue; and what the terms of access to that funding are.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
Department does not hold a budget for contingency funding to provide financial support in these circumstances. The Department expects the building owner, developer or insurer to take responsibility for the costs arising from a critical incident. High rise social sector buildings with unsafe cladding systems, however, can apply for funding from the Government’s grant funding schemes, worth £5.1 billion in total, to remove and replace the unsafe cladding if they meet the eligibility criteria. The criteria and process differs depending on the type of cladding system. More information on the funds, including their criteria, can be found at: www.gov.uk/guidance/building-safety-programme.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to Clarion Housing Group’s decision to urgently decant tenants and leaseholders from Clare House, if he will ask the Regulator for Social Housing to report the reasons for which it did not speak to tenants of that block as part of its investigation in 2018-19 into whether tenants had suffered serious detriment following a complaint received about its repairs contract with Ecolution at that time.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
All registered providers of social housing are expected to make sure that their properties are well managed and of appropriate quality, and they must comply with the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. Landlords are required to engage with their tenants and put things right as soon as possible. The regulator considers all relevant referrals and complaints it receives to ascertain whether there has been a breach of the consumer standards that risks or caused serious harm to tenants that might warrant further regulatory action. The Regulator does not have a role in proactively seeking tenants’ views on the performance of their landlord. Following the commitments made in the Charter for Social Housing Residents, we will give the Regulator stronger powers to proactively monitor and drive compliance with consumer standards, including new tenant satisfaction measures to help assess landlord performance on issues like repairs and complaints handling.
The Department has been in regular contact with Clarion Housing Group and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets regarding the situation at Clare House. Clarion Housing Group has responsibility for the safety of residents at Clare House and for providing residents with appropriate alternative accommodation following the decision to decant residents from the building. Clarion Housing Group has confirmed that they have made residents a comprehensive offer of support which will include permanent alternative accommodation. The Department and the Local Authority expects Clarion Housing Group to move quickly to provide alternative permanent accommodation and provide support to evacuated residents for as long as it is required.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will ask the Regulator for Social Housing to commence an investigation into whether residents of Clare House have suffered serious detriment that would amount to a breach of its regulatory standards through the way those residents have been dealt with by Clarion Housing Group since they first started raising concerns about their own safety in the wake of the fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
All registered providers of social housing are expected to make sure that their properties are well managed and of appropriate quality, and they must comply with the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. Landlords are required to engage with their tenants and put things right as soon as possible. The regulator considers all relevant referrals and complaints it receives to ascertain whether there has been a breach of the consumer standards that risks or caused serious harm to tenants that might warrant further regulatory action. The Regulator does not have a role in proactively seeking tenants’ views on the performance of their landlord. Following the commitments made in the Charter for Social Housing Residents, we will give the Regulator stronger powers to proactively monitor and drive compliance with consumer standards, including new tenant satisfaction measures to help assess landlord performance on issues like repairs and complaints handling.
The Department has been in regular contact with Clarion Housing Group and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets regarding the situation at Clare House. Clarion Housing Group has responsibility for the safety of residents at Clare House and for providing residents with appropriate alternative accommodation following the decision to decant residents from the building. Clarion Housing Group has confirmed that they have made residents a comprehensive offer of support which will include permanent alternative accommodation. The Department and the Local Authority expects Clarion Housing Group to move quickly to provide alternative permanent accommodation and provide support to evacuated residents for as long as it is required.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to Clarion Housing Group’s decision to urgently decant tenants and leaseholders from Clare House, whether that organisation has the legal power to make direct offers of alternative permanent housing to those who have lost their home.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
All registered providers of social housing are expected to make sure that their properties are well managed and of appropriate quality, and they must comply with the regulatory standards set by the independent Regulator of Social Housing. Landlords are required to engage with their tenants and put things right as soon as possible. The regulator considers all relevant referrals and complaints it receives to ascertain whether there has been a breach of the consumer standards that risks or caused serious harm to tenants that might warrant further regulatory action. The Regulator does not have a role in proactively seeking tenants’ views on the performance of their landlord. Following the commitments made in the Charter for Social Housing Residents, we will give the Regulator stronger powers to proactively monitor and drive compliance with consumer standards, including new tenant satisfaction measures to help assess landlord performance on issues like repairs and complaints handling.
The Department has been in regular contact with Clarion Housing Group and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets regarding the situation at Clare House. Clarion Housing Group has responsibility for the safety of residents at Clare House and for providing residents with appropriate alternative accommodation following the decision to decant residents from the building. Clarion Housing Group has confirmed that they have made residents a comprehensive offer of support which will include permanent alternative accommodation. The Department and the Local Authority expects Clarion Housing Group to move quickly to provide alternative permanent accommodation and provide support to evacuated residents for as long as it is required.