Why we are engaging with Angus Council (Angus)
We are engaging with Angus about its services for people who are homeless, service quality, stock quality and tenant and resident safety.
During 2022/23 Angus carried out a strategic review of its services for people who are homeless. It decided to transfer these services to the Angus Health and Social Care Partnership, with full implementation of the change taking place in October 2023. At this time, storm Babet caused severe flooding in Angus, which impacted a significant number of households, homes and infrastructure. Angus’s housing and homelessness service implemented an emergency response and refocused its activities on the delivery of a recovery strategy via the provision of temporary accommodation, permanent re-housing, advice and support to affected households. In February 2024 Angus began to implement a transition plan to move back to the provision of mainstream housing and homelessness services.
During 2023/24, we reviewed and compared the data for all local authorities from the Scottish Government’s national homelessness statistics. We also spoke to all local authorities to gather further information and assurance about their homelessness services. To assess the risks to people who are threatened with or experiencing homelessness we will engage with all local authorities during 2024/25 with a focus on the provision of appropriate temporary accommodation.
We will engage with Angus in particular about the following areas:
- the ongoing impact of storm Babet on the delivery of the homelessness services and in particular on the implementation of the transfer of the services to the Partnership;
- the provision of temporary accommodation by Angus to people who are homeless; and
- outcomes for people who are homeless.
During 2023/24 Angus began to implement a review of its service quality performance in complaints handling, void management and rent arrears recovery. Its improvement plans were placed on hold as a result of the emergency response to storm Babet and will be resumed in 2024/25.
Angus has identified reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in some of its homes. It has told us it has a plan in place to manage any associated risks.
In 2022/23 Angus told us it had identified weaknesses in the quality of its data used to report compliance with the electrical safety and fire detection requirements of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) which came into force in early 2022. Angus has developed an improvement plan to address this and will implement a new asset management system in 2024/25.
Angus also told us that a significant number of its tenants’ homes do not fully comply with electrical safety and fire detection requirements. Angus is progressing inspections to provide Electrical Installation Condition Reports and to install integrated smoke and heat alarms in all of its tenants’ homes.
What Angus must do
Angus must:
- send us the information we require in relation to its homelessness service;
- tell us about any emerging issues preventing it from fulfilling its statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation when it should and comply with the Unsuitable Accommodation Order;
- continue to review its performance for complaints handling, void management and rent arrears;
- tell us if there are any material adverse issues which might affect its capacity to manage the risks associated with RAAC; and
- send us monthly updates on its progress to improve the quality of its data used to report compliance with the SHQS and on achieving compliance with electrical safety and fire detection requirements.
What we will do
We will:
- review the information Angus provides about its homelessness service;
- meet with Angus by 31 July 2024 to discuss its homelessness service and engage as necessary;
- meet with Angus to seek assurance if it does not provide temporary accommodation when it should, or if it breaches the Unsuitable Accommodation Order;
- review Angus’s performance in complaints handling, void management and rent arrears recovery as part of our 2024/25 risk assessment;
- review any information Angus provides about RAAC in its homes and engage as necessary;
- review the information Angus provides about its progress to improve the quality of its data used to report compliance with the SHQS and on achieving compliance with electrical safety and fire detection requirements and engage as necessary; and
- update our published engagement plan in the light of any material change to our planned engagement with Angus.
Regulatory returns
Angus must provide us with the following annual regulatory returns:
- Annual Assurance Statement; and
- Annual Return on the Charter.
It should also notify us of any material changes to its Annual Assurance Statement, and any tenant and resident safety matter which has been reported to or is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive or reports from regulatory or statutory authorities or insurance providers, relating to safety concerns.