Housing services in Chesterfield were inspected by the Regulator of Social Housing in September.
Chesterfield Borough Council has received a grade of C2, which means that while there are some areas of weakness that must be addressed to achieve the top rating of C1, overall, there is a good level of ‘assurance’ that the Regulator’s Consumer Standards are being achieved.
The purpose of the inspection was to measure the council’s compliance against the Regulator’s Consumer Standards – safety and quality; transparency, influence, and accountability; neighbourhood and community; and tenancy.
As well as attending meetings of the council’s Cabinet and Scrutiny Committee and reviewing a wide range of documents and evidence, the inspectors met with tenants, officers, and councillors.
The judgement report states that:
- outcomes across all key areas of health and safety compliance are good and performance is actively monitored by senior officers, councillors and involved tenants
- the council is managing the risks associated with damp and mould and is taking steps to adopt a more planned approach and improve reporting
- the council works effectively with the police and other relevant organisations on a range of interventions to deter and tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in the neighbourhoods where it provides homes
- the council supports tenants to sustain their tenancies
- the council provides a range of opportunities for tenants to influence and scrutinise services
- the council is committed to treating tenants and prospective tenants with fairness and respect
Councillor Jean Innes, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “As a social housing provider, ensuring that our services meet the needs of our tenants is our top priority. The C2 grade, which is the second highest grade possible, recognises that we are meeting the Regulators’ Consumer Standards in many areas.
“The judgement report does identify some areas where improvement is needed to make sure that we are offering the best possible services for our tenants, and based on the feedback from the regulator, we are already developing an action plan that will help us achieve this outcome."
Areas identified as requiring improvement include the efficiency and timeliness of repairs and learning from complaints to improve service delivery.
Councillor Innes added: “We look forward to working with the regulator on our improvement journey, and we will continue to work directly with our tenants, keeping them updated and involved.
“With the support of our dedicated workforce, we believe that we can all work together to improve the quality of the homes and housing services that we provide to the council’s tenants.”
A copy of the judgement can be found on the government website.
All council tenants are reminded that they can keep up to date with the latest information on housing services by visiting: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/housing
