The Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Northumberland Council met on Thursday 4 June 2026 to discuss the establishment of the committee itself, and to review the council's housing landlord functions. A significant portion of the meeting was scheduled to focus on the draft Regulatory Compliance Improvement Plan, which addresses findings from an inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing.

Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee Draft Terms of Reference

The committee was scheduled to comment on and discuss the draft Terms of Reference for the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee. These terms of reference outline the committee's purpose, which includes providing oversight of the NCC (Housing) Landlord services to ensure compliance with the Regulator of Social Housing's Consumer Standards, the Building Safety Act 2022, and the Fire Safety Act 2022. The committee would also be responsible for addressing findings from the Regulator of Social Housing and monitoring the progress of the Regulatory Compliance Improvement Plan . Further responsibilities included reviewing tenant satisfaction measures and action plans, and receiving evidence of assurance from various sources such as resident feedback and internal audits.

Housing Overview

A key item on the agenda was a review of the council's housing landlord functions. This was to be presented through a series of discussions:

• The background to the NCC landlord role and function: Members were scheduled to receive a presentation detailing the history and responsibilities of Northumberland County Council (NCC) as a landlord.
• Current Performance Overview: A presentation was planned to provide an overview of the current performance of the council's housing services.
• The Action Plan: The committee was to be presented with the draft Regulatory Compliance Improvement Plan. This plan details areas of current weakness identified by the Regulator of Social Housing and outlines the activities underway to address these issues.

The report accompanying this agenda item highlighted that the council had been working with the Social Housing Regulator following an inspection in November 2025. A key outcome of this was the establishment of the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee to provide oversight of the improvement plan and associated assurance, including tenant engagement. The report noted that while the council performed well on physical and key health and safety issues during the inspection, serious problems were identified in other areas. Notably, the absence of an up-to-date, comprehensive stock condition survey of all properties was considered a serious and significant weakness by the Regulator.

The draft Regulatory Compliance Improvement Plan detailed specific actions to address weaknesses across various regulatory standards. Under the Safety and Quality Standard, actions included procuring an external company to carry out a full stock condition survey, developing a five-year rolling programme for investment, and implementing a new asset management software. For Health and Safety, plans involved sourcing external validation, developing an internal audit programme, and establishing a single point of accountability within the landlord service. Regarding Repairs, Damp and Mould, the plan outlined the procurement and embedding of an asset management system and the development of a robust approach to identifying, tracking, and reporting damp and mould cases.

Under the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard, actions were planned to address the diverse needs of tenants, including undertaking a get to know you phase and ensuring frontline services use a central system for a unified view of the customer. For engagement with tenants, the plan included defining the role of tenants in governance arrangements and producing regular information for tenants on various platforms. Service performance and information reporting were to be improved through the creation of a comprehensive training/learning module for tenants and the establishment of a housing dashboard. The Complaints Management section of the plan detailed recruiting further complaints officers, developing a lessons learned process, and introducing a You Said We Did section on the website. For the Tenancy Standard, actions included launching a new Tenancy Agreement and policy, and developing methods for monitoring and reporting on tenancies. Under the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, plans focused on developing an ASB module within the council's system for better data extraction and reporting.

Reports of the Scrutiny Officer

The committee was also scheduled to consider reports from the Scrutiny Officer:

• Forward Plan: Members were to note decisions taken by Cabinet since the latest Forward Plan of key decisions.
• Housing OSC Work Programme: The committee was to consider future work in light of discussions and action points from its inaugural meeting.

The Forward Plan of Forthcoming Cabinet Key Decisions to September 2026 included items such as the Financial Performance 2025-26 Final Outturn, updates on the Berwick Maltings Theatre project, approval for refurbishment works at Blyth Sports Centre, the Northumberland Cultural Strategy, and the adoption of the North Pennines National Landscape Management Plan 2026-2031.