Decision

To approve amendments to the Gas and Heating Policy relating to Arun District Council’s council owned housing stock. The policy was originally adopted by the Housing and Wellbeing Committee on 17 June 2025.

The amendments update and clarify the council’s approach to managing gas and heating safety across its housing stock, including annual gas safety checks, management of void and new build properties, capped gas supplies, different heating systems, access arrangements, data and records, performance monitoring and quality assurance.

Reasons for the decision

The Gas and Heating Policy for council owned housing stock has been reviewed to ensure that it provides a clear framework for the management of gas and heating safety and reflects the council’s arrangements for maintaining, inspecting and monitoring gas installations and other heating systems provided to residents.

The revisions provide greater clarity around the council’s annual gas safety programme, including the use of the permitted ‘MOT’ style approach to annual checks, arrangements for void and new build properties and the requirements applying at the commencement of a new tenancy. They also clarify the approach to alternative heating systems, communal systems and properties managed on the council’s behalf by third parties.

The amendments also clarify arrangements where a resident requests that their gas supply is capped, including maintaining records that the supply remains safely isolated and advising residents to contact their energy supplier about meter removal, standing charges and future reinstatement. The policy additionally provides for periodic intelligence led reviews of properties not recorded as having a gas supply to identify any unreported gas installations.

The revised policy further clarifies arrangements for access, contract management, risk assessment, record keeping, resident communication, performance reporting, quality assurance and the escalation of significant non-compliance.

The amendments therefore provide a clearer and more consistent framework for managing gas and heating safety within the council’s housing stock and for demonstrating compliance with relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

Alternative options considered

Retain the existing policy without amendment: Rejected. This would not incorporate the additional clarification and updates identified through the review, particularly in relation to safety checks, capped supplies, different heating systems, access, data management and assurance arrangements.

Undertake a complete replacement of the policy: Rejected. The existing policy framework remains appropriate and the required changes can be addressed through amendments to the current policy.