A Reform councillor has accused Oldham Council bosses of 'covering their a***s' following a critical housing inspection report published last year. The town hall owns nearly 2,100 homes across the borough, though these properties are not directly managed by the local authority.
The management of the homes is split across four separate deals, some lasting up to 30 years. The council did not realise it was responsible for overseeing how contractors performed as the landlord. This led to a damning inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing in 2025, with the rating focusing on the council's oversight rather than the quality of the housing itself.
Regulator Found 'Serious Failings'
The regulator identified 'serious failings' on the council's part, requiring 'significant improvement'. Issues raised included a lack of evidence that reports were considered by senior officers or sent to councillors, and insufficient assurance and verification of outcomes reported by providers.
There was also 'a lack of up to date stock condition information' for one contract, inconsistencies in reporting, and inadequate efforts by the council to ensure the information it received was robust. A lack of opportunities for tenants to scrutinise performance and inconsistent approaches across contracts were also reported.
Improvement Plan Underway
Following the inspection, the council began developing an improvement plan, which was recently approved by the regulator. A local authority report said: "Engagement with the providers on the key elements of this plan has been positive, and a number of improvements are already under way."
"Consultation has recently concluded on a service redesign, which will put additional staffing into the team, in order to ensure there is sufficient capacity to both deal with the day-to-day contract management of our properties, while also ensuring compliance with the Consumer Standards, and readiness for future inspections."
"A new Consumer Standards Improvement Board is being stood up, with the first meeting scheduled for late October. This board will include tenant representation, and have responsibility for signing off each action as complete."
Councillors Critical
The report was presented to councillors at a scrutiny meeting on October 7, but cross-party criticism emerged over the fact substantial information was only provided at the meeting itself. Labour councillor Josh Charters said: "I do not think I can say that I have any confidence without seeing it myself properly."
Reform councillor Ioan Williams went further, criticising what he saw as potential 'pen pushing', adding: "It kind of comes across you are covering your own a***s when it comes to the next inspection." Councillor Rob Barnes also criticised what he described as serious failings and questioned why the situation had been allowed to persist for so long.
In response, officers said the rating was because the council had not been fulfilling its duties as a landlord and had taken the word of housing providers that a good service was being delivered, especially since the providers had received good ratings. However, officers acknowledged the council should have been 'scrutinising the data coming through' more thoroughly. Further reports detailing the council's improvement are expected to come before the committee at a later date.
