Transparency data

RSH Board minutes - 7 November 2022 (accessible version)

Updated 24 February 2023

Applies to England

Public minutes of the RSH Board meeting

on Monday 7 November at 2pm
Microsoft Teams Meeting (no members were together, and the meeting was deemed to have been held in London, the location of the Chair).

6. Remote and virtual participation

6.1 Any member may validly participate in a meeting virtually through the medium of conference telephone, video conferencing or similar form of communication equipment, provided that all persons participating in the meeting are able to hear and speak to each other throughout such meeting, or relevant part thereof. A member so participating shall be deemed to be present in person at the meeting and shall accordingly be counted in a quorum and entitled to vote.

6.2 A meeting shall be deemed to take place where the largest group of those members participating is assembled or, if there is no group which is larger than any other group, where the chair of the meeting is.

Present

• Simon Dow
• Liz Butler
• Richard Hughes
• Jo Boaden
• Deborah Gregory
• Geoff Smyth
• Paul Smee
• Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs
• Fiona MacGregor - Chief Executive
• Jonathan Walters - Deputy Chief Executive
• Bernadette Conroy - Board Chair

In attendance

• Richard Peden - Director, Finance and Corporate Services

• Mark Smith - Senior Solicitor, Legal Team

• Chris Kitchen - Board Secretary, Minutes

1. Welcome and apologies

01/11/22 There were apologies from Kalpesh Brahmbhatt.

2. Declarations of Interest

02/11/22 There were no new declarations of interest.

3. Audit and Risk Assurance Committee – report to the Board

03/11/22 The Chair of ARAC presented the paper which sets out the outcome of the work performed by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee during the year ended 31 March 2022 and its overall opinion for the year. ARAC produces an annual report to the Regulator of Social Housing Board, which assists the Board in assessing the assurance work completed during the year and supports the Governance Statement and the rest of the Annual Report and Accounts.

04/11/22 Mike Newbury, NAO Engagement Director for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Group delivered the NAO Completion Report highlighting that NAO proposed to issue a clean audit report. The audit did not identify any control weaknesses to warrant any formal management letter points. There will be a delay to the sign-off of the audit by NAO as a consequence of delays in receipt of an assurance report on the City of Westminster Local Government Pension Scheme from the scheme’s auditors, Grant Thornton. Similar delays are being experienced across the audits of many local government pension schemes. The NAO are doing all they can to get the final report issued and have been advised it would be issued by 30 November. If this is the case, RSH is still likely to be able to lay our accounts in Parliament before the Christmas recess. Members were advised that the NAO audit team had complimented the work of the RSH Finance team and that the whole audit process had been very well co-ordinated this year.

05/11/22 The Board NOTED the Terms of Reference of the Audit Committee and the Internal Audit Final report.

06/11/22 There had been a private meeting of the ARAC with both auditors (after the most recent programmed ARAC meeting) at which both were very complimentary of the work of the finance and management teams.

07/11/22 The other members of ARAC confirmed that they had nothing further to add. The ARAC Chair thanked her fellow Committee members, management, the finance team for their hard work and in particular for the production of another very good, clear ARA for 2021-22. The Chair of the Board added her thanks to ARAC and the finance teams and NOTED that this will be the last ARA with LB as Chair and thanked her for an excellent report giving Board assurance.

08/11/22 The Board ENDORSED the ARAC Annual Report.

4. RSH Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22

09/11/22 Members confirmed that they had reviewed the ARA and NOTED the changes made since the previous version reviewed by the Board. Members were also adequately apprised of the situation around the Westminster Pension scheme. RBP advised members that it is unlikely that there will be any impact to the final accounts but if there are, these will be negligible. DF&CS AGREED to advise the Board of any changes to the accounts, when the final report is received from Grant Thornton.

10/11/22 There were a few comments on the report which DF&CS AGREED to action:

• check the reference to the Accounting Officer in the document as there were places where both the CEO and DCEO were referenced as Accounting Officer.
• Review wording in the CEO’s report on the scrutiny of decency of housing in the delivering effective regulation section.
• Minor typographical errors.

11/11/22 The Board approved the accounts subject to any changes in respect of the pension scheme and recommended it for sign-off by the Accounting Officer.

5. Any other business

12/11/22 JW gave members an update on discussions with Treasury and DLUHC on rents, final decision is expected on 17 November.

13/11/22 The Bill is in the Lords for its second reading. It is expected that the amendment on professionalism is likely to be passed – the implications of these amendments for the RSH, is not yet known. There is also an expectation that a decision will be made on the principles for inspections – there will be an update to the 22 November Board meeting.

Date of next meeting: 22 November 2022 at 10am