Research and analysis

CORS survey October 2020 responses report - overview

Updated 14 May 2021

Applies to England

This is the summary from the seventh of our temporary monthly surveys about how providers are managing some of the challenges they face as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Providers were asked to submit survey responses covering the period up to and including 31 October by 6 November. This was before the introduction of the new national restrictions in England. The response rate was 94% and we are grateful to all providers who responded.

Despite increased infection rates and the introduction of tiered lockdowns in parts of England, providers’ responses showed that the delivery of services remained stable in October. The number of providers who had completed all or most gas safety, fire compliance, asbestos, electrical, legionella and lift checks was similar to the previous two months. Across the sector, gas safety compliance is reported to be broadly back to pre-coronavirus levels.

Most care and support providers reported that staffing was at normal levels, but some have started to report pressures due to higher levels of staff absence. These care and support providers report they have contingency plans in place and are continuing to maintain safe staffing levels. Some care and support providers are planning to revert back to practices adopted for the first lockdown such as the closure of communal areas or remote delivery of services where appropriate.

Providers’ returns more generally noted the additional pressures that staff absence or contractor capacity have had on delivery of repairs. However, they have not reported material backlogs and appear to have appropriate mitigations in place including procuring additional staffing resource.

Many providers had anticipated constraints arising from increased infection rates and further restrictions. The vast majority of providers reported that they are continuing to deliver all responsive repairs and have no intentions of reducing service delivery. Some are anticipating that planned works may be subject to delays due to residents self-isolating.

Access issues were a significant factor in operational challenges in the first lockdown. Providers continued to report small numbers of access issues where vulnerable tenants are shielding. They report that they are aware the second lockdown is likely to lead to renewed concerns among tenants about letting workers into their homes. Overall, providers reported confidence that they have appropriate systems and processes in place to manage the operational impacts of a second national lockdown.

During 2020, providers have responded effectively to the challenges presented by the pandemic and over the last three months their operational performance has been stable. We consider that we will still need to understand operational performance on a regular basis in early 2021, but that it would be proportionate to reduce the frequency of survey returns to bi-monthly. We will review the future role of the Coronavirus operational response surveys (CORS) again in March 2021.

The submission dates for the next three CORS are shown in the table below.

Data up to and including	Submission by
30 November	7 December
31 January	5 February
31 March	7 April

CORS is not a regulatory return. If a provider believes 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.