Industry Viewfinder


“Are the majority of trades you work with aware of their impacts on the health and safety of residents?”


and 2% ‘very negatively’. Among the reasons for this, respondents said they “don’t think they will add any value, and there is a danger that it will become similar to the situation we currently have with Ofsted in Schools – it may drive good people out of the industry.” Other respondents argued that the enforced powers “could have been


provided with more guidance,” and that “the new regulations put more pressure on providers.”


BARRIERS TO CHANGE With a relatively healthy understanding of the need for change – including an appreciation of the enhanced powers to tackle failings, and the trust in trades to consider the health and safety of residents – it is clear that there must be significant barriers to change if – as our respondents have relayed – failings continue to occur. Tere are a number of barriers set before housing professionals here, from


the challenges of any additional resources needed to meet the rising safety standards, to the wider pressure to continue to build more housing – with delivery declining significantly in 2023.


TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS When it came to some of the requirements of the Act, a lack of adoption was shown. Asked, if applicable, if their organisation had appointed a health and safety


lead officer, only around a quarter (26%) said they had done so, leaving 74% who at the time of asking were yet to do so. Similarly, when it came to training around the new regulations, 79% said


their organisations are providing none, with a little over one in five (21%) saying their organisation is distributing such training. With over three-quarters of our respondents being at manager level or


above, a lack of understanding – or at least preparedness – of the Act was revealed by almost a third (31%) of our respondents reporting they are unaware of how their company was performing against the upcoming time limits for addressing hazards.


“Do you think the culture around addressing issues if damp and mould across the sector has changed following the death of Awaab Ishak?”


Tankfully, of the 69% who did know, the vast majority (87%) were already


meeting the standards prior to the Act, and 11% are now meeting the standards in response to the Act (with 2% being unsure). In terms of the number of senior managers holding the new qualifications


soon to be required, almost half (41%) said none at all. Tis was followed by 29% at less than a quarter holding the qualifications, 7% a quarter to half, 13% half to three quarters, and just 9% who said that all their managers currently hold the new qualifications – with an overall average of just one in four managers believed to hold these qualifications at the time of asking.


ATTITUDE One of the most prominent barriers highlighted in this survey, 81% of our respondents believed that the timescales for correcting faults in tenants’ homes are ‘unrealistic.’ Teir attitude wasn’t as stark when it came to the proactivity of the sector in


addressing complaints of health and safety, with a relatively even split. For complaints of damp and mould, a little over half (53%) believed


the majority of housing professionals to be reactive, and 47% proactive. Slightly improved, for complaints of safety issues, 55% said proactive, and 45% reactive. In either case, though, this still means that around half of respondents


believed most housing professionals only deal with issues of health and safety as and when they arise.


TENANT RELATIONSHIPS While the majority of respondents (77%) believe the Social Housing Act will improve relationships between tenants and landlords, a notable one in five (23%) did not believe this would be the case. “It’s like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut,” said one respondent. “It’s a


reactive measure by the Government who don’t understand the real problem.” Tey continued: “It will put greater constraints on already stretched resources


and senior management are just covering their backs rather than trying to address the problem.”


32 | HMMFebruary/March 2024 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


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