CORS survey June 2020 responses report - overview
Updated 14 May 2021
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2021
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-operational-response-survey-reports/cors-survey-june-2020-responses-report-overview
This is the summary from the third of our temporary monthly surveys to establish up-to-date information about how providers are coping with some of the current challenges they face as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Appendix 1 sets out the survey questions.
We asked private registered providers with 1,000 or more homes, local authority social landlords and those providers with fewer than 1,000 homes which have a high proportion of supported accommodation to respond to the survey. The response rate was good (99%) and we are grateful to all the providers that responded.
The evidence suggests the sector is continuing to maintain adequate levels of service delivery in the areas surveyed and has begun work towards recovery. Emergency and urgent repairs are being completed; where lower priority health and safety checks had been paused they are being rescheduled; repair backlogs are stable and plans are being made to address them; and care and support settings continue to maintain safe staffing levels and essential services.
While the number of providers reporting gas safety check compliance remains above 99%, a slightly increased number of providers are reporting that they are currently completing most, rather than all, gas safety checks. This is mainly due to continuing challenges with accessing properties. Although providers are now starting to address backlogs, this is balanced by the number of properties where the gas safety check has just expired.
Demand for repairs remains lower than usual and a number of providers are now taking action to encourage tenants to report non-emergency repairs. They are making plans for completing these, in some cases with additional contractor resource.
We will repeat this survey for the period to 17 July; with returns due by 24 July, and we will publish our analysis of the responses shortly afterwards. However, if providers believe tenant safety is threatened or viability is under strain, they should not wait for the survey but should speak to their key contact at the regulator, or our Referrals and Regulatory Enquiries team, via enquiries@rsh.gov.uk or 0300 124 5225. Providers with fewer than 1,000 homes should use our dedicated email address SmallProviders@rsh.gov.uk.