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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will ask the Regulator for Social Housing to explain why Clarion Housing Group’s failure to ensure that its contractor Ecolution responded within 24 hours as an urgent appointment to reports by tenants of a loss of heating and hot water in its all-electric blocks does not represent serious detriment to tenants amounting to a breach of the Home Standard.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
While the framework within which the Regulator of Social Housing operates is set out in legislation, the regulator is operationally independent and it would not be appropriate for me to direct it as to how it carries out its functions.
It is important to note, however, that when considering whether consumer standards have been breached the regulator is looking to identify systemic failings in an organisation.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2019 to Question 249190 on Clarion Housing Group and with reference to the oral contribution of the former Minister for Housing and Planning of 31 October 2016, Official Report, column 754, on Social Housing: Regulation, whether the Housing Ombudsman has referred any complaints about Clarion Housing Group to the Regulator of Social Housing as involving evidence of potentially systemic issues relating to any registered providers since the 31 October 2016.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Housing Ombudsman has not referred Clarion Housing Group to the Regulator of Social Housing under this Scheme for potentially systemic issues or non-compliance with the Ombudsman’s orders since 31 October 2016.
The Regulator of Social Housing continues to monitor the level of complaints and referrals from individual Clarion tenants made to the Regulator and to take any follow up engagement as appropriate. The Regulator also liaises closely with the Housing Ombudsman.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will ask the Regulator for Social Housing to state (a) how many complaints it has received about services provided by Clarion Housing Group in each of the last four years and (b) what the outcome of each of those complaints was.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Regulator of Social Housing received 36 referrals complaining about Clarion in 2017 and 21, 31 and 3 in 2018, 2019 and so far in 2020 respectively.
Once received the regulator carries out an initial review to assess whether it can, within its remit, consider these further. In 2017, six of the cases were investigated further and nine and eight cases in 2018 and 2019 respectively. None of the referrals were considered to have breached the regulator’s consumer standards.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will ask the Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group to report how many tenants in all-electric blocks who suffered a loss of heating and/or hot water since the new contract for those utilities commenced with Ecolution Energy Services were given appointments for an electrician or engineer to attend those blocks within (a) 24 hours, (b) 72 hours and (c) 28 days.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
As a private registered provider of social housing, Clarion is required to meet the Regulator of Social Housing’s standards. This includes a requirement that landlords provide a cost-effective repairs and maintenance service that responds to the needs of and offers choices to tenants. It also has the objective of getting repairs and improvements right the first time. However, it is up to housing associations to develop their own procedures for tenants to report repairs and complaints and their own service commitments to their tenants.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 October 2019 to Question 291215 on Housing Ombudsman Service: Complaints, what the average length of time taken was to determine complaints to the Housing Ombudsman Service for (a) July to September and (b) October to December 2019; and how many complaints were determined in each of those quarters.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The average time taken to determine complaints and the number of complaints determined by the Housing Ombudsman Service is set out below.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many complaints about poor services by Clarion Housing Group were received by the Housing Ombudsman Service in (a) 2018-19 and (b) the first three financial quarters of 2019-20; and how many of those complaints (i) have been determined, (ii) are under investigation and (iii) are awaiting allocation to an adjudicator for an investigation.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
In relation to Clarion, the Housing Ombudsman Service received;
a) in 2018-19; 444 complaints
b) in the first three financial quarters of 2019-20; 347 complaints
Of these, 84 and 43 respectively entered their formal remit, 127 in total.
Of these formal complaints,
i) 95 have been determined,
ii) 6 are under investigation and
iii) 26 are awaiting allocation.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people living in social housing have been denied the right to succeed a tenancy after the death of their parent(s) in (a) London and (b) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency in the 12 months.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department does not hold this information.
I am looking forward to meeting the Hon. Member in due course to discuss the issue of succession to social housing tenancies.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the results of his Department's consultation entitled, Consultation on changes to the intervention, enforcement and use of powers guidance, published in June 2019.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
This consultation was carried out by the Regulator of Social Housing. The consultation closed on 16 August 2019 and the regulator published its response on 16 December 2019
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people living in social housing have been denied the right to succeed a tenancy after the death of their parent(s) in (a) London and (b) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency in the 12 months.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.
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 Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the results of his Department's consultation entitled, Consultation on changes to the intervention, enforcement and use of powers guidance, published in June 2019.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.