Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Housing of 12 January 2017, on the interaction between the ombudsman and regulator, what the (a) timeline, (b) terms of reference and (c) date of publication is for his investigation; and if he will place a copy of his findings following these investigations in the Library.

Following the debate on 12 January 2017, my officials met with representatives from the Social Housing Regulator and the Housing Ombudsman to discuss the effectiveness of the interaction between those organisations. Both organisations recognise the importance of effective working relationships and are committed to sharing data where appropriate. I expect to be briefed on the outcome of these discussions shortly.