The Leader of the Council and Executive Councillor for Housing, Partnerships and the Local Plan, Stephen Conway, approved the Housing Landlord Service Gas Safety Policy. This policy establishes a framework for managing gas safety risks in council-managed homes, ensuring compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements.

Housing Landlord Service Gas Safety Policy

The Wokingham Borough Council's Housing Landlord Service Gas Safety Policy was approved by Councillor Stephen Conway, the Leader of the Council and Executive Councillor for Housing, Partnerships and the Local Plan. This new policy aims to create a robust framework for managing gas safety risks within the approximately 3,000 residential properties owned and managed by the council. It supersedes the previous Gas Servicing & Safety Check Policy & Procedure, which was last updated in 2021.

The development of this policy was prompted by recommendations from a Compliance Health Check conducted by Pennington Choices in 2023, which advised segregating policy, procedure, and process documentation. The policy is designed to ensure that all gas appliances, installations, and associated systems in council-managed homes are properly maintained and safe, thereby protecting tenants, staff, contractors, and visitors from potential gas-related risks such as leaks, explosions, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Key legislative and regulatory requirements referenced in the policy include the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the more recent Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. The policy outlines specific activities to ensure compliance, such as ensuring works are carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers, conducting safety checks at least every 12 months, providing safety certificates to tenants, and maintaining records for at least two years. It also mandates the provision and testing of carbon monoxide alarms in relevant rooms.

The policy details the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, including the Chief Executive as the Duty Holder, the Cabinet Member for Housing Services, the Service Director for Housing Services, the Strategic Asset Manager, the Building Compliance Manager, compliance officers, contractors, and tenants. Tenants are expected to allow reasonable access for safety checks and to report any suspected faults immediately.

Governance arrangements include regular performance reporting to internal groups and externally to the Regulator of Social Housing. Quality assurance measures, such as checks on Landlord's Gas Safety Records, internal audits, and third-party post-inspection checks, are also in place. The policy will be reviewed every three years, or sooner if legislative or regulatory changes occur. An Equality Impact Assessment has been completed, concluding that a full assessment is not required, as the policy is expected to have a neutral or positive impact across all equality groups. The policy will be effective from 17 July 2026.

This decision was made by Councillor Stephen Conway and is subject to a call-in period expiring on 16 July 2026. The decision document can be found at Decisions 09th-Jul-2026 10.00 Executive - Individual Member Decisions.