You asked us to provide:
1) A list of registered social landlords where the Housing Regulator has taken statutory action since the start of 2014.
2) The type of statutory action in each case.
3) Who decided that statutory action should be taken in each case, was it always the Board?
4) How does the Board get assured about why action is being taken, and whether it is in line with your framework in each case?
We can confirm:
When we intervene we use our statutory powers of intervention under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 (The Act). Section 52 of the Act provides that we may intervene on a statutory basis in a number of ways. Specific powers are provided for in subsequent sections of the Act. You can read more about when and how we use our intervention powers in section six of our Regulatory Framework. The Framework, approved by our Board sets out how we regulate both Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and the housing and homelessness services provided by local authorities.
Some decisions to take statutory action have been made by the Board, and some by an Assistant Director. SHR’s Board has resolved that certain powers and decisions may only be exercised by the Board. It has delegated some statutory powers to the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive has delegated authority to the relevant Director who then delegates responsibility to relevant staff within their Group.
It is the Director’s responsibility to ensure that:
- decisions are made in accordance with our Regulatory Framework, policies and guidelines;
- judgement is exercised appropriately; and
- all relevant officers from across SHR are involved in the decision and/or notified of the decision.
The Board is briefed on statutory action to give it assurance that SHR is acting in accordance with our Regulatory Framework.
We provided the table below and added hyperlinks to our published reports on completed statutory action cases.
|
RSL |
Section of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 |
Decision Maker |
Status |
|
Wellhouse |
Section 58 to appoint a manager |
Assistant Director |
|
|
Muirhouse |
Section 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the governing body |
Assistant Director |
|
|
Ferguslie Park |
Section 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the governing body |
Assistant Director |
|
|
Antonine |
Section 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the Board |
Assistant Director |
|
|
Molendinar Park |
Section 65 to appoint officers to the governing body |
Assistant Director |
|
|
Kincardine |
Section 58 & 59 to appoint a manager Section 66 to restrict the Committee’s dealings Section 61 to serve notice of intention to suspend the Chair Section 65 to appoint members to the Board |
Assistant Director |
|
|
Section 67 to direct a transfer Section 24 and 27 to remove from the Register of social landlords following a transfer |
SHR Board |
||
|
Dalmuir Park |
Section 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the Board Section 61 to suspend a member of the governing body |
Assistant Director |
|
|
Arklet |
Section 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the Board |
Assistant Director |
Completed* |
|
Wishaw & District |
Section 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the Board |
Assistant Director |
Ongoing |
|
Ruchazie |
Section 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the Board |
Assistant Director |
Ongoing |
|
Thistle |
Section 57 & 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the Board |
Assistant Director |
Ongoing |
|
Fairfield |
Section 58 to appoint a manager Section 65 to appoint members to the Board |
Assistant Director |
Ongoing |
* report not yet available
In follow up, you asked for information on:
- The format of update to the Board on statutory actions
- Delegated authority procedures
We can confirm:
- We provide updates to the Board on statutory actions in a variety for formats including verbal and written.
- We do not provide a written report on statutory action to each Board meeting.
- We provided the operational delegation of statutory powers that details which decisions around the use of our statutory powers are retained by the Board or delegated to our Chief Executive or other staff.
In follow up you asked:
- About the criteria for written reporting to the Board on statutory intervention cases.
- If from January 2018 to present Kincardine was the only one where written reports were provided to the Board.
- Whether your information request and the replies will be published on the Housing Regulator's website.
We can confirm:
- That the Board considered written reports on Kincardine Housing Co-operative on 29 May, 30 October 2018 and 19 February 2019 as it had decisions to take. We do also refer to statutory interventions in other regular Board updates and if discussion takes place this is reflected in the minutes.
- That we have published information on your request on our website.
No information is withheld in connection with these requests.