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Housing association under investigation over fire safety concerns
The housing regulator has launched an investigation into a Merseyside landlord after fire safety concerns were raised, Inside Housing understands.
Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT), which owns around 14,000 homes, was issued with enforcement notices on three of its residential blocks by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service in November 2017.
Around the same time, an internal audit is thought to have highlighted concerns about the association’s compliance with health and safety regulations.
After being notified of the enforcement notices and the audit findings, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) launched an in-depth assessment of KHT in February.
The RSH is yet to issue its regulatory opinion on the review.
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A spokesperson for KHT said: “The actions required by the notices were already in our schedule of works and completed prior to the deadline, resulting in the notices being discharged.
“Simultaneously, an internal audit that was already planned identified areas of improvement required in relation to statutory compliance.”
The landlord “immediately put in place a formal rectification plan and appropriate resources to ensure that our focus remains on our customers and in addressing the issues identified”, the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Bob Taylor, chief executive of KHT and its parent company First Ark Group, has brought forward his retirement by several months.
Mr Taylor, who has held the post for 14 years, announced his decision to retire at the end of 2018 in March. However, last week Mr Taylor stepped aside to be replaced by an interim chief executive.
“In March 2018, it was announced that the First Ark Group chief executive would retire with effect from 31 December 2018,” the spokesperson for KHT said.
“In light of this decision and the process of change we are going through at the group, the board have decided to bring in an interim chief executive to focus on the future, while we undertake the long-term permanent recruitment of the new group chief executive.
“The senior leadership team and the board can still draw on Bob’s significant experience until he leaves the organisation, but he is no longer in the business on a day-to-day basis. The First Ark Group board would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his service.”
There is no mention of an interim chief executive on KHT’s website.
KHT’s most recent regulatory judgement, published in November 2016, was ‘G1 V1’ – the highest possible grading for governance and financial viability. The association’s chair, Helen White, is chair of the Regulatory Board for Wales.
A spokesperson for the RSH said: “In-depth assessments (IDAs) are bespoke to the presenting risks in each provider and their duration depends on how long it takes to get assurance on those risks.
“Following the conclusion of an assessment, we seek to publish our findings as quickly as we can and where we identify potential non-compliance, we communicate this as a Grading under review.
“We do not comment on IDAs before they are concluded.”
