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Regulator intervened in Welsh HA due to health and safety data failure
The Welsh social housing regulator intervened in a Cardiff housing association over its failure to record data about health and safety checks, Inside Housing has learned.
Cardiff Community Housing Association (CCHA), which owns 2,840 homes, has been told to undertake a series of independent reviews of its governance, a regulatory judgement published last month revealed.
The judgement mentioned concerns including “assurance on health and safety matters plus the repairs and maintenance services” but did not go into further detail.
CCHA confirmed to Inside Housing that the issue had related to the quality of its information management.
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Poor data collection on health and safety testing meant it was unable to gauge the risks to tenants in its properties.
After being contacted by the Welsh Government’s regulatory team, CCHA worked with the regulator to appoint Grant Thornton to solve the issues.
The association’s board has also commissioned its internal auditors, Mazars, to start producing annual compliance reports on information management.
Kaniz Malekin, chair of CCHA, said: “We have put in place plans to address the health and safety concerns raised, including reliability of key data relating to servicing schedules and planned inspections within our properties.
“Staff have thoroughly reviewed in detail all of that data. We now have an accurate picture of the data held and where improvements need to be made.”
The regulator also raised concerns after it was discovered that a number of CCHA properties had not been tested for electrical safety within the five-year period recommended by the previous test certificate – though the Welsh Housing Quality Standard advises that 10-year checks are sufficient.
CCHA has now put a programme in place to try to complete the tests by the end of June this year.
A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said: “Cardiff Community Housing Association has voluntarily agreed to address the concerns identified in the regulatory judgement.
“We are working constructively with them as they address the concerns raised.”
