Letter to registered providers: Health and safety of occupants – 20 June 2017
Published 20 June 2017
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2017
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To private and local authority registered providers 20 June 2017 By email
Dear Providers
Grenfell Tower Fire
Following the tragic events at Grenfell Tower last week, as Regulator of Social Housing, I write to remind you of your obligations as a Registered Provider to comply with all relevant legislation. Specifically, part 1.2 (b) of the regulator’s Home standard requires that Registered Providers shall:
- Meet all applicable statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of occupants in their homes.
It is clear from feedback from many providers that Boards are already seeking assurance that compliance with all health and safety requirements can be evidenced. Meeting health and safety obligations is a primary responsibility for registered providers. Boards and councillors must ensure that they have proper oversight of all health and safety issues (including gas safety, fire safety, asbestos and legionella). Contracting out delivery of services does not contract out responsibility to meet the requirements of legislation or standards, so providers need systems to give boards assurance of compliance.
We set out our approach to regulation in Regulating the Standards; in relation to the consumer standards it is illustrated in our annual Consumer Regulation Review. Should any provider find that they have systemic failings in relation to internal control of health and safety which indicate that they are not in compliance with the Standard, based on our co-regulatory approach, we expect you to notify us as Regulator and resolve the issues immediately.
We expect all providers to fully understand all their obligations in relation to tenants’ health and safety. You will wish to access professional advice in the event that you are not clear on your statutory obligations.
We are aware that you will already have received a letter from DCLG about safety checks. However, we are writing to all registered providers to remind you of your obligations to ensure that there is no gap in coverage for all those on our Register.
We will continue to liaise with DCLG and HCA colleagues, about any followup action that is planned as a result of the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, and will ensure that, wherever appropriate, we co-ordinate our approach with that of other agencies.
We are only seeking a response from providers to this letter in the event of potential non-compliance; in which case please contact the Regulatory Referrals and Enquiries team in the first instance.
Yours faithfully
Fiona MacGregor
Director, Regulation