Housing service praised for performance and commitment to improvement

We are proud to share that following a detailed and thorough inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) over a three month period, concluding at the end of January, our housing service has been awarded a C2 grading. This result indicates we're delivering services that meet the consumer standards set out by the regulator, while also recognising that some areas offer room for further improvement.

This was the first inspection of its kind for Gateshead Council under the regulator's new consumer standards framework, which reviews services, including tenancy standards, neighbourhood and community services, and safety and quality standards among others, and the outcome represents a significant milestone on the our improvement journey. The rating was informed by an intensive onsite inspection process where tenants, officers, councillors - including the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Housing - contributed through meetings, observations, and a wide-ranging document review.

Performance across all key inspection areas was found to be strong. The council was particularly praised for:

• Having an accurate, up-to-date and evidenced understanding of the condition of its homes, with a programme in place to physically inspect every property by the end of 2025.
• A fair and transparent approach to letting homes, ensuring allocations reflect the needs of households, support community sustainability, and make efficient use of housing stock, underpinned by regularly reviewed policies.
• Providing tenants with a wide range of meaningful opportunities to engage, share their views and shape services.
• A clear commitment to treating tenants with fairness and respect, and adapting services to meet individual needs.
• A robust understanding of health and safety duties, with strong risk management processes in place for homes and communal areas.
• Effective partnership working with the police and local health services to tackle anti-social behaviour and hate incidents in local neighbourhoods.

While the council welcomes the positive findings, it acknowledges the areas highlighted by the regulator that require further improvement. Plans are already underway to address these:

• A new complaints handling team has been introduced to ensure faster, more effective responses to tenants' concerns, and to ensure lessons are learned to continually improve services.
• Continued investment is being made to enhance the efficiency of the home repairs service, resulting in quicker repairs, faster turnaround of empty homes, and a reduction in the backlog of outstanding repairs.
• Further strengthening of the council's approach to tackling damp and mould, including better monitoring of performance to improve outcomes for tenants.

Councillor Chris Buckley, Cabinet Member for Housing, said:

"We are pleased with the judgement of the Regulator of Social Housing. It recognises the hard work and determination that are being invested across the housing service to improve performance and outcomes for our valued tenants. We also fully agree with the regulator's feedback on areas where we can and must do better. Plans are already well in place to address these as part of our wide-ranging improvement drive.

"We are firmly focused on delivering a housing service that provides safe, decent, and well-managed homes, with support services that evolve around the needs of our tenants. The result of this recent inspection is clear evidence we are on the right path.

This latest achievement builds on a series of positive external inspections for the Gateshead Council, which have also seen their Adult Social Care services praised by the Care Quality Commission, and strong outcomes reported by Ofsted for their school provision.