Labour 'shocked' by social housing failures

Wendy Randall, from the Labour group, said failings by Northamptonshire Partnership Homes were "very alarming"

A political group said it was "shocked and very concerned" that a social housing provider had provided incorrect information on living standards.

Conservative-controlled West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) announced it was taking "immediate steps" to address the "performance failings" of Northamptonshire Partnership Homes (NPH).

The council said it had referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing following a review process identifying that NPH may have failed to maintain national quality and safety standards in some homes.

Wendy Randall, from the council's Labour group, said having "numerous incidents of inaccurate data being shared with the council" was "very alarming".

Council leader Adam Brown apologised that standards had "fallen short" of what should be expected

The council said it was "likely" some of the failings will include "a lack of safety inspections being carried out at some properties".

The council said it had written to all tenants of the 11,500 homes it owns to update them on the issues but stressed that the majority of NPH properties were not affected as they met the standards and had the appropriate safety checks in place.

It added that "immediate action" had been taken to address the issues, with NPH prioritising safety concerns.

NPH was first established by the now defunct Northampton Borough Council in 2015 and is responsible for repairs and maintenance, housing development, and housing management, including dealing with anti-social behaviour, tenancy support, tenant involvement, and Ecton Lane Park traveller site.

'Simply not good enough'

Adam Brown, the leader of the council, said: "We know that tenants will be concerned by this news but please be assured that we are doing everything possible to address the issues.

"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 said: "I’m very glad to see that WNC and NPH have made efforts to resolve this as quickly as possible.

"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."