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Welsh regulator to intervene in 6,000-home association over ‘serious’ failures
The Welsh Government is set to intervene in a 6,000-home housing association after it found ‘evidence of serious failures of governance’.
Hendre, the parent organisation of a group including Hafod Housing Association, requires regulatory intervention because a “significant risk (single or combination) has not been effectively managed”, according to a regulatory judgement published yesterday.
It has failed across a number of areas, including “leadership and culture”, “board oversight and control”, “non-compliance with policy” and “ineffective management and poor professional practice”, the judgement said.
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The judgement grades the housing association at “intervention” level, which means the regulator will act to improve its performance. Currently the association, which operates in nine council areas across South Wales and is part of the Welsh Housing Partnership joint venture along with three other landlords, has been told to undertake an “independent review of governance and leadership across the organisation”.
It will need to implement any recommendations or improvement actions from the review to a timetable agreed with the regulator.
The regulatory judgement did not specify what issues were uncovered at Hendre, but mentioned “concerns” with its compliance with three performance standards, relating to “board and executive management”, “self-evaluation” of compliance and “compliance with regulatory requirements”.
In its previous regulatory judgement published in June 2017, Hendre was handed a “standard” grading for governance, the highest rating, which indicates that “new and emerging risks” are being managed appropriately.
Nigel James, chair of Hafod, said: “The board fully accepts the regulatory judgement and we have entered into a voluntary undertaking with the Welsh Government regulator, which clearly sets out their expectations for improvements and what we will do to address the issues.
“We would like to stress that nothing in the judgement relates to our frontline services. There is no impact on our tenancies or care packages. These are unaffected and our dedicated staff will continue to deliver high quality housing, care and support services.
“The board and executive team are committed to learning from this judgement and we will work with the regulator over the next few months to deliver the necessary improvements. A thorough review of governance, agreed with the regulator, will start imminently.”
Hendre has maintained its “standard” grading for financial viability in the new judgement, indicating that it “meets viability requirements and has the financial capacity to deal with scenarios appropriately”.
