The Auditor General has published several recent reports concerning the inspection of housing associations in Wales.
About the Wales Audit office
The Wales Audit Office was created in April 2005 through the Public (Wales) Act, 2004 which expanded the functions of the Auditor General for Wales enabling them to transfer staff from the Audit Commission in Wales and National Audit Office to his employment. The organisation which is independent of government manages 19billion of annual public expenditure. The Welsh Assembly Government has appointed the Wales Audit Office to carry out the inspection of housing associations in Wales. Inspection is carried out under the Local Government Act 1998, as amended by the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004.
The specific questions about each aspect the inspection covers are set out in the Assembly Governments Regulatory Code for housing associations A template consisting of Key Lines Of Enquiry (KLOES) are also used to structure the inspection process. A copy of KLOES can be found by clicking here or ask the Welsh Tenants Federation for our brief guide to housing association inspection in Wales.
The following is a brief summary of the three most recent reports.
Pontypridd and District
Pontypridd and District Housing Association is a community based housing association established in 1979 with 451 properties servicing Pontypridd and the surrounding district. The report concluded that Pontypridd and District Housing Association is providing good or excellent services in nearly all areas; although the management of gas servicing was identified as an area of weakness. It was recognised that Pontypridd & District is an Association which is striving to continuously improve and raise the standards of service delivery.
For a copy of this report, please visit here by following this link For more information please contact WAO Partner Paul Dimblebee on 029 2026 2687 or email paul.dimblebee@wao.gov.uk
Valleys to Coast
This report found that Valleys to Coast Housing Association has made clear progress since it was established in September 2003. However, at the time of the inspection in November 2005, services and arrangements for securing continuous improvement were still evolving.
For these reasons, the report concluded that it is too early to form any lasting judgments, either on the quality of services provided by the Association or on its arrangements for securing continuous improvement. A re-inspection is planned for 2007.
For a copy of this report, click on the following link. For more information, please contact WAO Partner Paul Dimblebee on 029 2026 2687 or email paul.dimblebee@wao.gov.uk
Pennarf group inspection
The Pennarf Group was formed in 2003 and comprises Pennaf Ltd, Clwyd Alyn Housing Association Ltd and Ty Glas Housing Society Ltd. The group manages over 4,000 properties catering for general needs, care and support and low cost home ownership. The organisation services residents in Denbighshire, Flintshire, Conwy, Wrexham, Powys and Anglesey . The report concluded that Pennaf Housing Group provides mainly ‘satisfactory’ services to its tenants.
The group was also found to provide good or excellent services in some areas. But, weaknesses were identified in its maintenance provision, its plans to secure continuous improvement and the monitoring of equality data. The report found that Pennaf had satisfactory arrangements regarding its relationship with residents, its rents and letting service and its equal opportunities arrangements. It was found to offer an ‘excellent’ service in relation to housing people with support needs and had a good approach to providing and managing housing.
For a copy of the report click the following link For more information please contact Rachel Harries (Communications and Media Officer) on 02920 262 675 or email rachel.harries@wao.gov.uk
