Labour Group ‘Shocked’ by Social Housing Provider’s Information Errors

A political group expressed that it was “shocked and very concerned” after a social housing provider supplied inaccurate information regarding living standards. The Conservative-controlled West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) declared its intention to implement “immediate steps” to rectify the “performance failings” attributed to Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH). The council stated it had self-referred to the Regulator of Social Housing after a review process indicated that NPH might not have upheld national quality and safety standards in certain properties. Wendy Randall, a member of the council’s Labour group, commented that “numerous incidents of inaccurate data being shared with the council” were “very alarming”. The council indicated that it was “likely” some of these failings would involve “a lack of safety inspections being carried out at some properties”. The council confirmed it had contacted all tenants residing in the 11,500 homes it owns to inform them about the problems, but emphasized that most NPH properties remained unaffected, having met the required standards and undergone appropriate safety checks. It further noted that “immediate action” had been initiated to resolve the issues, with NPH focusing on safety concerns as a priority. NPH was originally founded by the now-defunct Northampton Borough Council in 2015 and holds responsibility for repairs and maintenance, housing development, and housing management, encompassing tasks such as addressing anti-social behaviour, providing tenancy support, fostering tenant involvement, and managing the Ecton Lane Park traveller site. Adam Brown, the leader of the council, stated: “We know that tenants will be concerned by this news but please be assured that we are doing everything possible to address the issues.” He continued: “Everyone deserves safe, high-quality housing and we recognise that this is not being delivered to some of our tenants. “This is simply not good enough and we are sorry that standards have fallen short of what the council and tenants should expect.” In a statement, Randall remarked: “I’m very glad to see that WNC and NPH have made efforts to resolve this as quickly as possible.” She added: “Adequate housing is a fundamental human right, to know that we and our provider have failed thousands in our care with not supplying this is shameful. “I am pleased to see the leader of the council has apologised and agreed to be open and transparent.”