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Yoric Irving-ClarkeExtending freedom of information laws to associations would boost accountability
Making housing associations subject to the Freedom of Information Act would lead to more transparency and should be welcomed by the sector, argues Yoric Irving-Clarke
Earlier this month, the Information Commissioner said that housing associations should come under the remit of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) – which made me think about the approaches taken by the housing associations I have worked for.
Housing associations are clearly not ‘public bodies’ under the definition in the FOIA – and indeed in recent years the government has moved to reclassify them as private sector organisations after they were briefly classified as public sector bodies for debt purposes.
It’s important that housing associations retain their independent status, not least because it means they can secure significant amounts of private finance to bolster public investment in housing.
Nonetheless, most of the housing providers I have experience of have treated the FOIA as a ‘good practice guide’ and have complied with its requirements.
This has been for several reasons, not least a genuine commitment to dealing with tenants in a fair and transparent way.
“Most of the housing providers I have experience of have treated the FOIA as a ‘good practice guide’ and have complied with its requirements”
They have also used the FOIA requirements as a ‘backstop’ for their complaints processes, particularly where complaints are referred to the ombudsman for resolution – complying with the act has been a ‘gold standard’ for disclosing information.
I have been involved in internal debates about whether housing associations should comply with the FOIA, as they do not fall under its remit – but the decision has almost universally been to do so. I realise that there will be some landlords out there who are not so disposed – but this is not my experience.
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Personally I agree with the Information Commissioner on this one. My view has always been that housing associations should be complying with the FOIA – and whether they currently do so or not, they should have nothing to fear from any potential extension.
First and foremost, all landlords in all tenures should be committed to being as transparent as possible with their tenants, stakeholders and the outside world. This includes being honest and open when you have made a mistake or got it wrong, as former Chartered Institute of Housing president Alison Inman has recently written in these very pages.
Following the fire at Grenfell Tower, it has been widely stated that social landlords need to be more transparent and more accountable to their tenants.
There are welcome plans afoot to increase the power of the regulator and calls from Shelter and others to include a ‘consumer standard’ within the regulatory framework. Although far from a panacea, making housing associations subject to the FOIA seems a relatively quick and easy way of increasing transparency and accountability.
One of the main complaints I see about the sector is a lack of trust and accountability between landlords, tenants and the outside world. This would surely be a good way to begin to redress that balance.
Yoric Irving-Clarke, policy and practice research officer, Chartered Institute of Housing
Listen to our Housing Podcast episode: Should the Freedom of Information Act apply to housing associations?
