Purpose

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) is due to carry out a formal inspection of the Housing Services provided by the Council, as part of the regulatory standards. This inspection could be carried out over the next two years, however there is no ‘pre-booked’ timescale for the inspection, and it could be carried out at any time during this period. Therefore, the decision to instruct Local Government East to provide support etc, is taken with this in mind, to enable the Council to be as prepared as possible, prior to any formal inspection.
A formal officer decision is required in respect of the spend associated with this project and the decision to engage LGE.

Decision

To instruct Local Government East to provide support, challenge and specialist project management services to the Housing Service, to ensure that the Council deliver a Housing Service that meets the standards of the Regulator of Social Housing.

Alternative options considered

Option 1, to do nothing. Although a significant amount of work has been carried out by all the teams within the Housing Service over the last two years, there is a need to review the Council’s position in relation to the Regulatory standards. This is best achieved by using an external source to give an independent view of our position to date. Therefore, this option was rejected.
Option 2, to go to market via a procurement exercise to seek this level of support. Given the uncertainty of the inspection timescale and time associated with undertaking a procurement exercise and the specialist nature of the support and challenge needed, this option was rejected.