Written evidence submitted by Tenant Inspection
Advisers
This submission to the Communities and Local Government
Select Committee enquiry is for the audit and inspection of local
authorities.
SUMMARY OF
POINTS
— Tenant
Inspection Advisors have been involved in a full gamut of performance
Housing inspections including:
1. Strategic housing function.
2. Indicative ALMO.
3. Supporting people.
4. Landlord services.
5. Benefits inspections.
6. Short Notice Inspections.
— Tenant
Inspection Advisors (approximately 50 from all parts of the country)
have been recruited and trained, both from the Housing Corporation
as regulator and also from the Audit Commission best value regime
inspections since 2001 coming together as a single inspectorate
in 2003.
— The
recruitment of users of services to assist the inspection regime
brought a new perspective to inspections one that brought an understanding
of the impact of service delivery on customers of the service.
— The
experience and skills that have been built up over the past ten
years by Tenant Inspection Advisors should not be lost in any
new arrangements that come out of the abolishment of the Audit
Commission.
— With
the coalition Governments focus on Localism there has been no
greater need to understand the needs of service users and find
ways of building understanding of how they can become involved.
— Any
new arrangements for audit of performance needs to incorporate
a service user perspective
— Most
Audit practice focuses on processes rather than measuring and
challenging outcomes for users of services.
— The
inspection regime of the past decade has help to push up standards
and understanding as well as developing value for money for local
authorities.
There are approximately 50 Tenant Inspection Advisors
who have been an integral part of the Audit Commission Inspection
teams since 2001.
The use of TIAs has had a positive impact on the
inspection regime, reality checking and triangulating Key Lines
of Enquiry, talking to staff and users of services, assisting
with the writing of inspection reports and making recommendations
for service improvements.
Reality checking was an important part of performance
Audit especially as most organisations self assessment of their
service delivery was very different from what was happening on
the front line of service delivery.
An example of this was the case of Nottingham City
Homes where the reality checking of service delivered to tenants
uncovered serious flaws in the lettings process, even though this
had been flagged up within internal audit and a previous inspection
report.
Inside Housing reported on the story as outlined
below
Council leader Jon Collins said the alleged behavior
of some staff in its housing department between 2003 and 2005
was at the "very least a serious breach of trust". At
worst it was "possibly criminal".
The commission"s report, published yesterday
after three years" research, says some council homes had
been allocated to people linked with officers. In one case staff
allocated a property to an employee they line-managed "ahead
of a significant number of other more needy applicants",
the report states.
"The people of Nottingham have been let down
by the council"s housing service." Alison Rigg, senior
manager at the Audit Commission
In some cases properties allocated outside the normal
waiting list system were given high-cost repairs before later
being sold at a discount under the right to buy. In many cases
it was likely people were given tenancies sooner than they should
have been or tenancies which should have gone to tenants with
greater housing need.
The commission also found that around 700 council
housing offers - 10% of all offers - were made outside the normal
waiting list system during the period concerned. It appeared the
points system had not been applied correctly for another 2,000
offers.
Audit Commission inspection also highlighted areas
of good practice that helped Local Authorities learn from each
other, this is another element of Internal Audit that may be lost
in any new arrangements.
Any new arrangements for performance audits needs
to include a service user perspective which will triangulate outcomes
for users of the service and ensure that services are delivered
that are needed and provide the best value for money, but that
also provide failsafe mechanisms so that the most vulnerable members
of society are protected.
Tenant Inspection Advisers
January 2011
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