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Regulator appoints sector heavyweights to non-compliant association’s board
Three senior sector figures have been drafted in to join the board of lease-based provider Westmoreland Supported Housing by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), in a bid to improve the performance of the non-compliant association.
Westmoreland provides housing to people with learning difficulties using a controversial lease-based financial model.
Last month it became the fourth ever housing association to be given a G4 rating – the lowest possible grading – for governance by the RSH, after temporarily entering the regulator’s insolvency process in the summer.
Just weeks before the rating was given, the regulator announced that it would take the unusual step of exercising its statutory powers to appoint board members at Westmoreland.
These appointees have now been confirmed as Lee Sugden, chief executive at Salix Homes; Susan Hickey, outgoing chief financial officer at Peabody; and Sue Lock, director of strategy for older people at The Guinness Partnership.
Mr Sugden, Ms Hickey and Ms Lock will sit on the association’s board for six months, though their tenure can be extended if the RSH believes it’s necessary.
Mr Sugden has also joined the board of Knowsley Housing Trust since it was found non-compliant with the RSH’s standards in August last year over safety issues.
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Scottish regulator warns landlords over tenant safety after issues found at a number of associationsMike Doran, chair of Westmoreland, said: “We welcome them to the board and recognise the value they can bring to Westmoreland in terms of additional guidance, support and expertise as we implement our improvement plan.”
Westmoreland, which manages 1,381 homes, was first declared non-compliant with the RSH’s standard on governance and viability in November last year.
It has since breached three more of the regulator’s standards, including the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard, which has never been broken by another landlord.
There are several supported housing associations funded through long-term leases of specialised supported housing (SSH) from private investment funds. In return, they pay a monthly index-linked fee.
The last provider to have board members appointed by the RSH was First Priority Housing Association, which operates the same financial model as Westmoreland.
Jonathan Walters, deputy chief executive of the RSH, said: “The regulator has long had the power to appoint board members and over the past 20 years we have used it where we have felt we needed to.
“The law says we can’t appoint a majority to a board, so traditionally we have normally appointed about three members.
“Typically it’s where you’ve got a board that wants to sort the problem out but doesn’t have the skills to do that or can’t attract the sort of board members that are needed, particularly if they are a smaller organisation.
“Once people go on the board they have a responsibility to act in the company’s best interests, not just to do what the regulator wants, but we do expect them to talk to us within the provider’s rules on confidentiality of course, and we will talk to them.
“While I cannot comment on the communications arrangements on individual cases – the standards are clear and boards have a responsibility to talk to us if they feel standards are not being met and can’t be met.”
