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Chief executive of under-fire ALMO quits
The chief executive of an ALMO rocked by health and safety concerns has quit after its parent councils took over the board last month.
Deborah Upton has stepped down from her role at East Kent Housing (EKH).
EKH, which manages around 17,000 homes on behalf of Canterbury, Dover, Thanet and Folkestone & Hythe councils, is set for closure with all four authorities agreeing an intention to take back management of their housing stock.
They acted after an independent report into problems at the ALMO concluded it is “fundamentally broken” and suggested the “failure in leadership” to fix safety concerns effectively was “unforgivable”.
In a joint statement released on 23 December, the four councils said: “East Kent Housing’s chief executive Deborah Upton has considered her position in light of the four councils’ consultation with their tenants and leaseholders on taking housing services back in house as well as the recent changes to the board.
“She has decided now is the right time to step aside. We are working on putting interim measures in place.”
Issues at EKH became public in June when it admitted its failure to keep hundreds of gas safety checks up to date, with an internal audit later concluding “no assurance” on fire, lift, electrical and water safety.
As of 5 December there were 24,000 outstanding compliance issues across all homes under EKH’s management, according to an officer’s report to Canterbury City Council’s policy and resources committee.
EKH was established in 2011 and is the only ALMO that manages homes on behalf of multiple councils.
A consultation on whether it should be closed finished on 20 December, with councillors due to make a final decision in February.
