The Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Northumberland Council met on Thursday, 17 September 2026, to review housing performance and progress on key improvement plans. The meeting's agenda included discussions on housing safety, quality, asset management, stock condition surveys, electrical inspection programmes, and updates on the Regulator of Social Housing's action plan.

Housing Performance Updates

The committee was scheduled to receive detailed performance updates on several key areas of housing management. This included a report and dashboard on Housing Safety, Quality and Asset Management Performance for the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. This report indicated that while most statutory landlord safety workstreams achieved 100% compliance, moderate assurance was provided regarding domestic electrical safety, stock condition intelligence, and gas capping due to historic challenges. The report highlighted a reduction in open damp and mould cases and an increase in the number of homes with recent stock condition surveys.

A separate report detailed the Progress with Stock Condition Surveys. As of 31 July 2026, surveys had been completed on 3,385 homes (41% of the council's stock), identifying 1,462 Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) hazards. Damp and mould were the most commonly identified hazards. By 31 August 2026, survey coverage had increased to 60%, with 4,929 homes surveyed. However, the report noted an increase in outstanding hazards awaiting remediation, with access constraints being a primary challenge for resolving Category 1 hazards.

The Electrical Inspection Programme was also on the agenda, with a position statement as of 31 August 2026. Domestic electrical safety compliance stood at 90%, an improvement from 87.9% in July, though still below the 100% target. This was attributed to a historic backlog of inspections and ongoing access difficulties. The report indicated that no outstanding C1 (Danger present) electrical defects remained, and eight C2 (Potentially Dangerous) remedial actions were under active management. The implementation of the EICR Compliance Recovery and Access Improvement Plan was reported to be 62% complete.

Finally, an update was scheduled on the Regulator of Social Housing: Action Plan. This report indicated that an external, independent assessment had been commissioned to ensure the root causes of regulatory failings were understood. A revised draft of the Regulatory Compliance Improvement Plan (RCIP) was in development, with the final version expected to be agreed internally in October and presented to the committee in November.

Reports of the Scrutiny Officer

The committee was also scheduled to review the Forward Plan of key decisions made by the Cabinet since the last meeting. Decisions noted included those relating to bus reform, the Council Tax Support Scheme, financial performance reports for the Housing Revenue Account and the general fund, and approval for capital expenditure on solar PV installations, improvements to Haltwhistle Swimming and Leisure Centre, and a new vehicle depot in Hexham. The report also outlined forthcoming Cabinet key decisions from October 2026 onwards, covering areas such as active travel routes, theatre projects, port operations, food safety, fire service inspections, community approaches, housing enforcement policies, telecare services, renewable electricity sales, and tree strategies.