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Council launches investigation into housing service following legionella row
An Essex council has launched an investigation into its housing service following a row over a potential legionella issue at one of its blocks.
Phil Ruck, chief executive of Brentwood Borough Council, wrote to councillors announcing the internal audit review late last month.
It comes after the chair and vice chair of the authority’s housing committee resigned, accusing senior officers of failing to keep councillors properly informed about water safety concerns and other key decisions made about the housing service in the local press.
At a meeting of the committee on Tuesday night, councillors unanimously approved a recommendation put forward by its new chair, Tom Mclaren, to note an officer’s report while “noting members dissatisfaction with the performance of the housing service”.
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The committee was shown a report demonstrating the progress made against two housing audits completed in May and November 2017, which flagged 31 high-risk actions between them – five of which remain outstanding.
Councillors questioned why the committee had not been updated on progress since April 2018.
Vicky Davies said the lack of communication made her wonder whether tenants were at risk, while Olivia Saunders branded potential legionella and asbestos issues as “near misses”.
Steve Summers, the council’s chief operating officer, said: “If any risk was to any tenants at any stage we would make that a priority, and I’m not aware of any risk at this stage to residents.”
It was also revealed that the council has not had a full planned maintenance programme in place for two years while the service focused on compliance issues.
Mr Ruck’s letter announcing the review, seen by Inside Housing, insists claims of a legionella outbreak “are alarmist and incorrect” and there is “no identifiable serious risk” to residents.
It said that an “incidence of legionella contamination did occur” at Victoria Court in Brentwood but was not serious, did not constitute an outbreak and was dealt with immediately.
Potential issues were identified in January with two tanks affecting six flats which were drained, chlorinated and replaced, Mr Ruck added.
He said “there were no residents reported to have suffered any physical harm, as the matter was highlighted prior to legionella being able to manifest in the tanks”.
The resigning committee members, Chris Hossack and Cliff Poppy, also cited concerns that officers had decided to abandon plans to form a housing management partnership with neighbouring Basildon Council without sign off from councillors.
Mr Hossack, appearing at the meeting last night despite no longer being on the committee, said this move was “a fundamental breach of democracy”.
Mr Ruck’s letter confirmed that Mr Hossack was not told until 15 days after senior officers decided to withdraw from negotiations with Basildon, but said the move “was correct” and “in line with constitutional requirements”.
It added that Mr Hossack and Mr Poppy had not “escalated” their concerns to him, “as prescribed in the [council’s] constitution”.
However, Mr Ruck said there “is evidence of poor communication issues” in the council and that compliance issues in the housing service are being addressed.
The letter also said it was possible that “an ex-agency staff member [is] feeding incorrect and false information in relation to the housing department, to a number of bodies”, with the council “pursuing legal action against this individual on a number of fronts”.
The review will start on 15 March.
Brentwood council has also appointed a new repairs and maintenance contractor for its 2,400 homes, due to start on 4 June.
