Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements: consultation

Question 1

Topic of this consultation

Accepted Answer

The Charter for Social Housing Residents: Social Housing White Paper (‘Social Housing White Paper’) included a commitment to introduce an access to information scheme for the tenants of private registered providers (PRPs). The commitment specified that the scheme would allow social housing tenants and their representatives to access information related to the management of their housing.

This consultation seeks views on the content of a policy statement which outlines the requirements providers will need to meet under the new Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs).

This consultation also seeks views on a proposed Direction from the Secretary of State to the Regulator of Social Housing (‘the Regulator’), directing the Regulator to require PRPs to comply with the policy statement for STAIRs.

Scope of this consultation

Section 197 of the 2008 Act gives the Secretary of State the power to direct the Regulator in relation to certain matters. Once issued, the Regulator must comply with these directions.

We propose to use this power to direct the Regulator to introduce requirements in their regulatory standards for PRPs to comply with the requirements in the STAIRs policy statement.

These changes will apply to all PRPs in England. We are seeking views through this consultation on whether the requirements should also apply to local authorities in relation to information held by tenant management organisations (TMOs) contracted to manage housing on behalf of local authorities.

The government has recently closed a separate consultation on a Direction to the Regulator to set a new Competence and Conduct Standard, and a consultation on ‘Awaab’s Law’ (timescales for repairs). It is the government’s intention to consult, at a future date, on directions on quality of accommodation, tenure, and rent.

Geographical scope

These proposals relate to providers of social housing based in England registered with the Regulator and subject to its regulatory standards.

The proposals will mainly affect tenants of social housing in England, including licensees and shared owners owning less than 100% of the property equity.

Impact on the sector

The introduction of the requirements will require PRPs to adopt and maintain a publication scheme, where information is published proactively for the benefit of tenants, and to respond to information requests from tenants. There will be a financial impact on PRPs associated with their compliance with this duty. This requirement will not be applied to local authority providers, as their tenants can already use the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to request information from their landlord. We are seeking views through this consultation on whether the requirements should also apply to local authorities in relation to information held by tenant management organisations (TMOs) contracted to manage housing on behalf of local authorities.

Information requests impact

The impact of PRPs dealing with information requests was included in the regulatory impact assessment produced for the Social Housing (Regulation) Act. Please review the full impact assessment for further information on the methodology and assumptions used: https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/46714/documents/1906

Based on estimating additional requests and reviews, and applying estimates of how long it will take for PRPs to respond, in our central scenario we expect information requests to cost around £1.8 million across all PRPs in year 1.

Over a 10-year appraisal period, the requirements are expected to cost providers £16.7 million (at 2022 value), or on average £1.67 million per annum.

Our engagement with social housing providers showed that most providers of social housing already have the infrastructure in place to answer requests for information. We anticipate an additional transition cost of around £850,000 to the PRP sector.

There will also be a cost associated with the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) responding to complaints from tenants regarding landlords’ compliance with these requirements, which DLUHC intends for the HOS to recover via fees. A financial charge of this nature has not yet been established. The Housing Ombudsman will consult with Registered Providers on the proposed fee regime, expected to take place one year after go-live so proposals can take account of actual volumes and costs.

Publication scheme impact

The cost of meeting the publication scheme requirements was not included in the initial assessment of STAIRs impacts included within the Social Housing (Regulation) Act’s impact assessment, as this policy measure had not been developed at the time of publication.

The closest basis for comparison is the extension of FOI requirements to Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in Scotland. This is not exact, as STAIRs is more limited than FOI for the reasons set out below but is a reasonable basis for inference. However, while the Scottish Government’s impact assessment on the extension of FOI notes there would be costs associated with setting up a publication scheme, it does not provide an estimate of these costs.^{[footnote 1]}

A second basis for comparison is the impact assessment carried out by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for the extension of FOI to bodies including the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Financial Services Ombudsman (FOS) and the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).^{[footnote 2]} With regards to the requirements for a publication scheme, the impact assessment estimates it would take one member of staff around two weeks to set up a publication scheme. Applying the same rationale to PRPs who would need to produce a publication scheme of a similar nature for STAIRs, assuming an average hourly salary for a member of staff working in regulatory compliance or a similar role of £26.19, including non-wage costs (according to ASHE) working eight hours per day for a five-day working week, this would bring the total one-off transition cost for setting up a publication scheme to £1,047.60 per PRP. Assuming there are 1,396 PRPs in the sector, this brings costs to a one-off sector transition cost of £1,462,450 in year 1.

While providers may incur ongoing costs in proactively publishing information through the publication scheme, these costs cannot be sensibly monetised given the range of approaches that PRPs may choose to take. Additionally, it is not possible to detach these costs from a provider’s existing activities. This approach was also taken in the MOJ’s impact assessment on the extension of FOI, and in the Impact Assessment for the Social Housing (Regulation) Act for other measures which involve landlords publishing information in their possession.

Question 2

Basic information

Accepted Answer

Body/bodies responsible for the consultation

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Duration

This consultation will last for 8 weeks from 20 May to 15 July 2024.

Statutory Consultees for the direction:

the Regulator of Social Housing
the Housing Ombudsman Service
the Homes and Communities Agency (known as Homes England)
the Greater London Authority
bodies representing the interests of tenants of social housing
bodies representing the interests of registered providers
bodies representing the interests of local housing authorities
the Charity Commission

The department will consider any consultation responses received from other interested bodies and individuals.

Monitoring and review

The direction forms one part of the changes we are making to the consumer regulatory regime. The department will work with the Regulator of Social Housing (the Regulator) to conduct a full review of the new regime after a four-year regulatory cycle is complete.

Enquiries

For any enquiries about the consultation please contact: stairsconsultation@levellingup.gov.uk

When you enquire, it would be useful if you confirm whether you are replying as an individual or submitting an official response on behalf of an organisation and include:

your name
your position (if applicable)
the name of your organisation (if applicable)
an email address

How to respond

You may respond by completing an online survey at: https://consult.levellingup.gov.uk/social-housing/sht-access-to-information-scheme-consultation

We strongly encourage responses via the online survey, particularly from organisations with access to online facilities such as local councils, representative bodies and businesses. Consultations often receive a high-level of interest and using the online survey greatly assists our analysis of the responses, enabling more efficient consideration of the issues raised.

Alternatively, responses via email should be sent to: stairsconsultation@levellingup.gov.uk

If you are responding in writing, please make it clear which question number your response, or each part of your response relates to.

Written responses can also be sent to:

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Floor 3 (Mailpoint B12)
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Please submit your response through only one of the above routes.

When responding to the consultation, please do not include sensitive personal data such as your name and address within your responses to questions. Information you provide in response to this consultation may be disclosed in accordance with UK legislation (the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004). Please note that we may publish responses to this consultation (however we will not publish any personal data). Therefore, please ensure that your response does not include any material that you are not content for us to publish.

Demographic questions

When you reply, it would be useful if you could please confirm:

1. In which capacity are you completing these questions?

Resident of the social rented sector
Local authority registered provider
Other local authority (not a registered provider)
Private registered provider of social housing
Other social landlord (not a registered provider)
Arms-length management organisation (ALMO)
Tenant management organisation (TMO)
Resident representative group
Landlord representative group
Industry body
Charity (not a registered provider)
Other (please specify)

2. If responding on behalf of an organisation, please specify which organisation:

North East
North West
Yorkshire and the Humber
East Midlands
West Midlands
East of England
South West
South East
London
Spread evenly across the UK/National organisation
Prefer not to say

under 1,000
1,000-9,999
10,000-19,999
20,000-49,999
over 50,000
Prefer not to say

Question 3

Introduction

Accepted Answer

1. Every social housing resident deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure; to receive a high-quality service from their landlord; and to have a strong voice, with tools at their disposal to hold their landlord to account. They deserve to have their complaints dealt with swiftly and effectively, and to know that things will be put right when they go wrong. Yet for too many residents in too many places their experience falls well short of this promise.

2. The government is determined to change that, which is why it has been working hard to improve standards in the social housing sector – redoubling efforts following the devastating Grenfell Tower fire of 2017, and embarking on an ambitious programme of reforms set out in The charter for Social Housing Residents white paper.

3. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 received Royal Assent in July 2023. This marked an important milestone in the government’s work to improve the lives of social housing residents, providing new powers to hold poorly performing landlords to account. It includes Awaab’s Law, introduced in response to the tragic death of two-year old Awaab Ishak, which will compel landlords to act so that no-one has to live in conditions that put their health and safety at risk, including damp and mould.

4. The government is now taking the next step on this programme of reform, introducing a series of measures that will drive up standards in the social rented sector and rebalance the relationship between landlord and resident. Collectively, these measures support our commitment to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030, made in the Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper. Each consultation reflects the extensive engagement the government has undertaken with experts in the field and with individuals with lived experience.

These measures include:

A consultation on Awaab’s Law (timescales for repairs in the social rented sector). This consultation closed on 5 March 2024 and we will carefully consider consultation responses before bringing Awaab’s Law into force via secondary legislation as soon as practicable.
A consultation on a Direction to the Regulator of Social Housing to set a Competence and Conduct Standard. This consultation closed on 2 April 2024.

5. Taken together, these reforms will help us right the wrongs of the past, put power in the hands of residents, and drive the culture change needed across the sector.

6. The government is committed to building a culture of openness and transparency across the social housing sector, which is crucial in empowering tenants and ensuring they are able to hold their landlords to account for the quality of housing and services they provide.

7. We want landlords to be open with their tenants, and to ensure that where tenants need information about the management of their housing, they are able to access it.

8. This consultation proposes the establishment of new Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) to achieve these aims, and to direct the Regulator to introduce a new standard to facilitate the introduction of the requirements.

9. This will accompany broader reforms to improve the quality of social housing, including the introduction of proactive consumer regulation.

10. The need for greater transparency was a key finding from stakeholder engagement carried out in support of the Social Housing Green Paper following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

11. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act amended the fundamental objectives of the Regulator to include transparency. It also introduced a new power of direction for the Secretary of State, allowing them to direct the Regulator on matters relating to the provision of information to tenants of social housing concerning social housing accommodation and related facilities and services.

12. To support these reforms in delivering the objective of landlords being open and transparent, we have designed STAIRs for tenants of PRPs. The Secretary of State will be able to use the new power of direction to direct the Regulator to introduce a standard to facilitate the introduction of the requirements.

13. STAIRs will require PRPs to publish proactively certain information about their activities relating to the management of social housing, as set out in the publication scheme. This will allow tenants to routinely access information relevant to the management of their homes. PRPs will be required to review and update the information provided on a regular basis, and ensure it is accessible to all of their tenants.

14. STAIRs will also allow social housing tenants or their designated representatives to request access to information related to the management of their housing. Where information is held by a PRP’s subcontractors, it will require the PRP to use all reasonable endeavours to obtain the information from the subcontractor and provide it to the tenant.

15. The requirements do not override the statutory rights or duties placed on the tenant or provider. This includes rights and duties under data protection and freedom of information legislation.

16. This measure’s primary purpose is to ensure that tenants of PRPs are able to access the information they need to hold their landlord to account and encourage a culture of transparency where landlords pre-emptively publish information relevant to the management of their tenants’ homes.

17. This policy is currently designed to apply to PRPs. Local authority tenants are able to access information about their housing management services from their landlord (as a public authority) under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. We are seeking views through this consultation on whether the requirements should also apply to local authorities in relation to information held by tenant management organisations (TMOs) contracted to manage housing on behalf of local authorities.

18. We believe that a bespoke scheme for private registered providers (i.e. only tenants and their representatives can access information, and that information requests must relate to issues relevant to the management of social housing) is the most effective and proportionate way of ensuring that all social tenants can access information about the management of their homes. Extending the Freedom of Information Act to private registered providers would be disproportionate; private registered providers are not public authorities nor are they classified as part of the public sector; it would drive up costs to providers, with little additional benefit to social tenants.

19. STAIRs will be integrated into the social housing regulatory environment, tailored to the needs of tenants, and enforced as part of the Regulator’s consumer standards.

20. If a tenant is dissatisfied with how a landlord has handled their request for information following a review, they will be able to take their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. These complaints will be handled under the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, ensuring ease-of-use and accessibility for tenants. The Ombudsman also has a strong understanding of the relationship between social tenants and landlords, and an established relationship with the Regulator.

21. The Housing Ombudsman will also consider complaints where tenants are dissatisfied with a PRP’s decision not to release information. This would follow a PRP’s own review when requested by tenants. Where appropriate, the Ombudsman will also be able to refer issues indicative of systemic failure to the Regulator to investigate further, as it would for other matters.

22. The Housing Ombudsman will consult on the changes to its Scheme. This will include consultation on how they will deal with complaints about review outcomes and the handling of reviews, which issues should be covered by the STAIRs review route, and which issues should be dealt with through the landlord’s formal complaints procedure.

23. Following the passage of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act, the Ombudsman will also be able to produce statutory good practice guidance. The Ombudsman is committed to producing good practice guidance to support PRPs in meeting STAIRs requirements.

Overview of the proposed direction

24. We propose to use the new power of direction explained in paragraph 11 to require the Regulator to include a requirement in their standards for PRPs to meet the requirements in the STAIRs policy statement.

25. The draft direction and policy statement are attached to this consultation.

26. The Regulator has a duty to set standards in accordance with the Secretary of State’s directions and is required to consult on changes or additions to those standards. We therefore expect the Regulator to conduct a consultation on any new standard reflecting the STAIRs direction once government has completed this consultation and issued the direction. We expect the new standard to apply to all PRPs.

27. Once issued formally, the direction will be binding on the Regulator.

28. The proposed directions have no pre-determined end date, but they may be subject to change or revision. Any further amendments or changes will require a further consultation.

29. The Regulator published a revised set of consumer standards in February 2024. The contents of this Direction are not included in those standards.

30. We invite your views on the questions listed and the draft directions by 15 July 2024.

Question 4

Context

Accepted Answer

31. The statutory framework for social housing regulation is set out in the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008.

32. This sets out the economic and consumer objectives of the Regulator. Providers of social housing can register with the Regulator subject to eligibility criteria. Registered providers that are not local authorities are known as ‘private registered providers’.

33. The Regulator currently has the power to set regulatory standards on a range of matters. Registered providers are required to comply with these standards. In relation to certain matters, the Secretary of State has the power to direct the Regulator to set standards, to direct on the content of those standards, or direct the Regulator to have regard to specified objectives when setting standards.

Changes to the regulatory regime

34. The government has reformed the Regulator’s consumer regulation remit; removing the serious detriment test to lower the threshold for intervention on consumer issues and facilitating the introduction of proactive regulation against the consumer standards. We have also expanded the powers of the Regulator to ensure it has the right tools to effectively carry out this enhanced role.

35. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act also introduces a new objective for the Regulator to require registered providers to be transparent with their tenants and extends its standard-setting powers to cover information and transparency. Commentary on the Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements proposals

Publication scheme

36. The draft policy statement requires providers to proactively publish certain types of information they hold.

37. PRPs must comply with the Social Housing publication scheme, which involves proactively publishing, or otherwise making available as a matter of routine, information which is held by the registered provider and falls within one or more of the categories set out Table 1.

38. The aim of the publication scheme is to increase transparency by allowing tenants to routinely access information their PRP has already decided they can give out, as it is in their tenants’ interest and is safe to disclose. Further, without the publication scheme, tenants may not know what information is available from their landlord.

39. Under the Social Housing publication scheme, PRPs must:

specify the information, which is held by the registered provider, and falls within the classifications in Table 1;
proactively publish, or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information which is held by the registered provider and falls within the classifications in Table 1;
make tenants aware of the publication scheme so that information can be easily identified and accessed by tenants; and
review and update on a regular basis, the information the registered provider makes available under the Social Housing publication scheme.

40. Registered providers will not be required to publish information where doing so would bring them into conflict with any statutory provisions.

41. Information published under this scheme should be made accessible to all the provider’s tenants. Providers are expected to inform tenants of where the information is published and regularly update and review the information.

42. To support maximum transparency, providers should also consider whether the information provided to tenants in response to information requests should be published under the publication scheme. We have requested views on whether this should be made a requirement in the publication scheme.

Table 1

Class of information	Information typically included
Governance and decision making	Senior staff names and roles, organisational structure and governance arrangements Decision making processes and policies, prioritisation of complaints, information on tenant consultations (including methodology), tenant meeting minutes and agendas
Spending	Spending, grants, use of service charge revenue
Housing stock management	Plans, maintenance work, progress towards net zero, stock transfers
Performance	Inspections outcomes, ratings, performance reviews, evaluation reports, Tenant Satisfaction Measures, media releases, complaint metrics, information request data, information request responses, health and safety performance and assessments, maintenance work, number of evictions
Housing services	Description of services, advice, and guidance for tenants
Lists and registers	Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the management of social housing
Social housing management	Policies relating to the management of social housing

Question 1

Do you agree with the requirements for the publication scheme, as outlined above? If not, why not?

Question 2

Do you consider it appropriate for the publication scheme to include a requirement for providers to publish previous information requests made under STAIRs, and the responses to those requests? Please provide your reasoning.

Publication scheme costs

43. We have included in our ‘impact on the sector’ section a summary of costs we estimate that the sector will face in relation to setting up a publication scheme, as is required by STAIRs.

44. The impacts of the publication scheme were not monetised in the initial impact assessment completed for STAIRs as part of the Social Housing (Regulation) Act’s impact assessment.

45. We are seeking views on the costs associated with this measure, described along with our methodology in the ‘Publication scheme impacts’ sub-section within the ‘Impact on the sector’ section of this document.

Question 3

Do you agree with the assessment of the impacts of the publication scheme, as outlined in the ‘Publication scheme impacts’ sub-section? If not, why not?

Question 4

Do you have any wider comments on the costs providers will face in implementing STAIRs?

What information is covered?

46. The information covered by STAIRs is ‘relevant information’ which is held by the tenant’s landlord or by a body/person responsible for the management of the tenant’s housing on behalf of the landlord.

47. Relevant information is information related to the management of the PRPs social housing. This may include details of policies, plans and actions carried out in the management of social housing, and information captured and retained to support these activities.

48. Specific examples of relevant information covered by the requirements may include, but are not limited to:

The handling of property moves
Rent collection
Rent rates
Service charges for shared owners
Occupancy rights
Estate management, management of communal areas and boundary issues
Property conditions, repairs, and improvements to property
Anti-Social Behaviour
Staffing and training
Complaints handling, procedures and performance
Compensation and redress
Communication and customer service
Health and safety
Data handling and privacy
Security
Housing stock transfers and mergers
Housing stock profile
Environmental and energy efficiency information

49. Information which is not relevant information includes, but is not limited to:

Matters determined by local councils, including their allocations policies and homelessness.
Information about the management of property that is not related to the providers social housing functions.

50. Information is not “relevant information if there is a right of access to that information by or under any statutory provision.

Question 5

Do you agree with the scope of information that is covered by STAIRs, as outlined in paragraphs 46-50? If not, why not?

Who can make requests?

51. Under the requirements set out in the draft policy statement, information requests can be made by a social housing tenant of the registered provider, or a tenant may nominate a designated representative to communicate with their provider on their behalf. Tenants must identify their representative to their provider.

52. Under the requirements, a request for information is only valid if the applicant is identifiable and the request is made in writing. A tenant or their designated representative does not have to mention STAIRs in order for the requirements under STAIRs to apply. Registered providers must make reasonable effort to assist applicants to make a clear and valid request.

53. Registered providers are expected to inform tenants of this policy and how to request information, through tools such as the tenant handbook and the provider’s website if one is used.

54. Local authorities are subject to existing FOI requirements, and we have consequently excluded them from the STAIRs requirements proposed in this consultation document. This is also the case for arms-length management organisations (ALMOs) contracted to manage housing on behalf of local authorities. However, we recognise that some tenants living in homes managed by tenant management organisations (TMOs) may have challenges in accessing information from their landlord where they do not meet the criteria for public authorities or publicly owned companies under the FOI Act. We believe it is important that all tenants can access information about the management of their homes. Consequently, we are seeking views on whether the requirements should be widened to apply to LAs with TMOs in relation to information held by those bodies.

Question 6

The above section (paragraphs 51 to 53) outlines the requirements relating to who can make information requests. Do you agree with these requirements? If not, why not?

Question 7

Do you consider it appropriate for the requirements to apply to local authorities with tenant management organisations in relation to information held by such bodies? Please provide details.

Processing requests

55. Under the requirements set out in the draft policy statement, registered providers must, unless it is reasonable to withhold the information from disclosure (see paragraphs 63-66), fulfil requests for relevant information.

56. Registered providers may withhold information that a tenant or designated representative requests where it is not reasonable in the circumstances to disclose the information based on the protections set out in paragraphs 64-66.

57. If the relevant information is held by a body/person responsible for the management of the tenant’s housing on behalf of the registered provider, the registered provider must use all reasonable endeavours to obtain the information and fulfil the tenant’s request for relevant information.

58. Registered providers are not required to create new records to comply with the information request.

59. Registered providers must not destroy, manipulate, or alter the information that is requested with intent to prevent disclosure.

60. Registered providers are not required to share information if it may be accessed through a statutory regime. In these circumstances, the registered provider should make reasonable efforts to direct the tenant to the appropriate route for accessing the information.

Question 8

Do you agree with the information provision requirements outlined in paragraphs 55-60? If not, why not?

Question 9

Paragraph 57 relates specifically to information held on behalf of the landlord by another body or person. Do you agree with the requirements relating to information held on behalf of the landlord? If not, why not?

Refusing information requests

61. We expect that, in the majority of cases, PRPs will comply with information requests and share the requested information with their tenant if it is held at the time of the request by themselves or a body that acts on their behalf.

62. However, the policy statement sets out certain circumstances in which PRPs may refuse to provide information in response to requests.

63. In the rules set out in the draft policy statement, a registered provider may refuse an information request where:

It is reasonable to withhold the information from disclosure (see paragraphs 64-66).
The identity of the applicant cannot be established.
The meaning of the request is not clear.
The information requested is not relevant information (as defined in paragraph 47).
The work involved with responding to the information request would exceed 18 hours of staff time.
The request is repeated, including where registered providers receive repeated requests from multiple applicants acting in coordination.
The request is offensive or communicated in an abusive manner.

64. In deciding whether or not it is reasonable to withhold information, providers will have due regard to the definitions given, and protections afforded to, certain classes of information in the Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection Act and any other relevant statutes. This means that, in deciding whether to withhold the information, registered providers will be expected to consider the requirements and exemptions in these pieces of legislation.

65. In assessing what is reasonable, registered providers should not refuse a request on the basis of:

the applicant’s identity or reasons for the request, beyond ensuring they are a tenant or a representative acting on their behalf; or
how the information is to be used following disclosure.

66. In assessing whether it is reasonable to withhold information from disclosure, providers should balance factors favouring disclosure against the likelihood of any harm arising from disclosure. Where the relevant information was provided by or relates to a third party, the registered provider must take into account the views of that third party regarding the likelihood of any harm.

67. The limit on the amount of time providers should be expected to spend responding to a request is included to protect PRPs from spending a disproportionate amount of time on responding to individual requests.

Question 10

Do you agree with the requirements relating to where providers can refuse to disclose information? If not, why not?

Question 11

Do you agree with the staff time limit (18 hours) for responding to requests, as outlined in paragraph 63? If applicable, please make reference to any costs or other burdens relating to the time limit.

Responding to information requests

68. The draft policy statement sets out requirements relating to time limits for responding to requests. PRPs must respond to an information request promptly, with the expectation that they will do so no later than 30 calendar days from receipt. Further time is permissible in exceptional circumstances:

To consider whether it is reasonable to withhold the requested information; and/or
To arrange access to relevant information held by a contractor or by another body on the provider’s behalf.

69. In circumstances where a registered provider is taking further time to respond to the request, they must respond in a timeframe that is reasonable.

70. Registered providers must notify applicants if their request is refused or will be delayed ensuring the reason is provided, including details of when they can expect to receive a response.

71. Registered providers may redact documents where appropriate.

72. Registered providers must make a reasonable effort to ensure information is disclosed in a format that is accessible to applicants.

73. Registered providers should guide applicants to other information resources relevant to their request, where they are aware of them.

74. Our intention is that PRPs will provide information to tenants quickly, while having adequate time to consider the request and prepare the information.

Question 12

Do you agree with the requirements relating to responding to information requests, including time limits, as outlined in paragraphs 68-74? If not, why not?

Complaints

75. The policy statement sets out the process for complaints.

76. Where the applicant is dissatisfied with the handling or outcome of their information request, they should first complain to the provider.

77. The provider must then carry out a review. This should normally be carried out within 30 calendar days of receipt; however additional time may be required in certain circumstances.

78. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the provider’s response to the review, they will be able to directly escalate this to the Housing Ombudsman under the terms of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme. Responses to review requests should inform tenants of their right to access the Housing Ombudsman Scheme.

79. The Housing Ombudsman will not be able to consider a complaint where the tenant has an alternative source of redress in relation to data protection legislation.

Question 13

Do you have any comments regarding the process for dealing with complaints?

80. Section 197 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 gives the Secretary of State the power to direct the Regulator in relation to certain aspects of its regulatory standards. Once issues, the Regulator must comply with these directions.

81. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act introduces a new power to direct the Regulator on matters relating to the provision of information to their tenants of social housing concerning social housing accommodation and related facilities and services.

82. We propose to use this power to direct the Regulator to introduce standards that require PRPs to meet the STAIRs requirements.

83. The draft direction sets out that the Regulator must introduce standards requiring PRPs to meet the requirements set out in the STAIRs policy statement.

Question 14

Do you have any comments on the draft direction?

Question 5

About this consultation

Accepted Answer

This consultation document and consultation process have been planned to adhere to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.

Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they respond.

Information provided in response to this consultation may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and UK data protection legislation. In certain circumstances this may therefore include personal data when required by law.

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public authority, the Department is bound by the information access regimes and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will at all times process your personal data in accordance with UK data protection legislation and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full privacy notice is included below.

Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless specifically requested.

Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond.

Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed the Consultation Principles? If not or you have any other observations about how we can improve the process please contact us via the complaints procedure.

Question 6

Personal data

Accepted Answer

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation.

Note that this section only refers to personal data (your name, contact details and any other information that relates to you or another identified or identifiable individual personally) not the content otherwise of your response to the consultation.

1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or by writing to the following address: Data Protection Officer, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.

2. Why we are collecting your personal data

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

We will collect your IP address if you complete a consultation online. We may use this to ensure that each person only completes a survey once. We will not use this data for any other purpose.

Sensitive types of personal data

Please do not share criminal offence data or special category personal data if we have not asked for it unless absolutely necessary for the purposes of your consultation response. By ‘special category personal data’, we mean information about a living individual’s:

race
ethnic origin
political opinions
religious or philosophical beliefs
trade union membership
genetics
biometrics
health (including disability-related information)
sex life; or
sexual orientation.

By ‘criminal offence data’, we mean information relating to a living individual’s criminal convictions or offences or related security measures.

3. Our legal basis for processing your personal data

Information provided in response to this consultation will be published to comply with section 197 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. Names of individual respondents will not be published. In addition, responses may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), the UK General Data Protection Regulation, and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Due to the legal requirement to publish responses, we are not able to guarantee confidentiality in respect of your response. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the department.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (“DLUHC”) will process your personal data in accordance with the law and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties.

The collection of your personal data is lawful under article 6(1)(c) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation as it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which DLUHC is subject. The relevant legal obligation is the obligation in s197(4) Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 for the Secretary of State to consult certain persons prior to giving a direction under that section of that Act.

Where necessary for the purposes of this consultation, our lawful basis for the processing of any special category personal data or criminal offence data (terms explained under ‘Sensitive Types of Data’) which you submit in response to this consultation is as follows. The relevant lawful basis for the processing of special category personal data is Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR (‘substantial public interest’), and schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘statutory etc and government purposes’). The relevant lawful basis in relation to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences data is likewise provided by schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

DLUHC may appoint a ‘data processor’, acting on behalf of the department and under our instruction, to help analyse the responses to this consultation. Where we do we will ensure that the processing of your personal data remains in strict accordance with the requirements of the data protection legislation.

5. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period.

Your personal data will be held for two years from the closure of the consultation unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point.

6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, restriction

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a. to see what data we have about you and ask to access it

b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record

c. to ask to have your data corrected if it is incorrect or incomplete

d. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO online, or telephone 0303 123 1113.

Please contact us at the following address if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, except the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO: dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or Knowledge and Information Access Team, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.

7. Your personal data will not be sent overseas

8. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making

9. Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system

We use a third-party system, Citizen Space, to collect consultation responses. In the first instance your personal data will be stored on their secure UK-based server. Your personal data will be transferred to our secure government IT system as soon as possible, and it will be stored there for two years before it is deleted unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point.

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