Why we are engaging with City of Edinburgh Council
We are engaging with City of Edinburgh about its services for people who are homeless, service quality and tenant and resident safety.
During 2021/22, we reviewed and compared the data for all Councils from the Scottish Government’s national homelessness statistics and the Annual Returns on the Charter. We also spoke to all Councils to gather further information and assurance about their homelessness services. To assess the risks to people who are threatened with or experiencing homelessness we have been engaging with all Councils during 2022/23.
During 2022/23, we have been engaging with City of Edinburgh in particular about its provision of temporary accommodation to people who are homeless.
To assess the risk to social landlord services we reviewed and compared the 2020/21 service quality performance of all social landlords to identify the weakest performing landlords. For our review we excluded the indicators where COVID-19 had the most significant impact on services. During 2022/23, we have been engaging City of Edinburgh about its handling of complaints, anti-social behaviour, rent collection and rent arrears.
In July 2022, we contacted City of Edinburgh following media reports of dampness and mould in some of its high-rise blocks in Muirhouse and Moredun. City of Edinburgh shared an improvement plan that it had developed following a recent review of its approach to managing reports of dampness.
City of Edinburgh has made progress with its improvement plan, including recruiting additional resources to investigate and address reports of dampness and mould in tenants’ homes. City of Edinburgh has also told us about its plans to invest in retrofit and energy efficiency improvements across the city, including in Muirhouse and Moredun.
We are seeking assurance about City of Edinburgh’s understanding of the scale of dampness and mould across the city, and the steps it is taking to address this, including how it is managing reports of health concerns being raised by tenants. City of Edinburgh is working openly and constructively with us.
What City of Edinburgh must do
City of Edinburgh must:
- provide us with the information we require in relation to its homelessness service;
- provide us with the information we require about its service quality; and
- provide us with the assurance that it has effective systems and processes for handling complaints about mould and dampness in its properties and that it is resolving any reported cases timeously and effectively.
What we will do
We will:
- review the information City of Edinburgh provides about its homelessness service;
- meet with City of Edinburgh monthly to discuss its homelessness service and decide whether we require any additional assurance;
- engage with City of Edinburgh about the information it provides about its service quality;
- meet with City of Edinburgh monthly to seek assurance it is dealing effectively with dampness and mould in its homes; and
- update our published engagement plan in light of any material change to our planned engagement with City of Edinburgh.
Regulatory returns
City of Edinburgh 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.