The Social Housing White Paper set out the Government's
commitment to consult on extending requirements for smoke and
carbon monoxide alarms, including introducing new requirements in
social housing and to consult separately on ways to ensure that
social housing tenants are protected from harm caused by poor
electrical safety in the home.
The Government has consulted on proposals to
extend requirements for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in social
housing and we are currently awaiting the Government's
response to that consultation.
Officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local
Government (MHCLG) have now established an Electrical Safety
Working Group to provide a forum to discuss the best way to ensure
social homes are safe in respect of electrical safety. The evidence
gathered, and any recommendations arising, will be used to develop
policy proposals and inform the content of a Government
consultation, to be published at a later date.
MHCLG has invited a range of organisations
with technical expertise on electrical safety to participate in the
MHCLG led Working Group which includes industry professionals and
landlord representatives including ARCH. Meetings will give members
an opportunity to discuss the current risk posed to social sector
residents in the home, and what solutions are required.
The Working Group will consider three broad
areas of risk including:
- Electrical installations - How best to ensure that electrical
installations in social homes are safe, including consideration of
introducing mandatory electrical safety checks with a view to
bringing parity with the private rented sector
- Electrical appliances - the role Government and social
landlords can play in ensuring appliances are safe for use
- Behaviours/human factors-residents' role in keeping their home
safe, and how landlords can best support this
Discussions will focus on these areas and how
the social sector can best ensure residents are protected.
The aim of this work is to develop policy
proposals for the social sector. As such the Working Group will not
be considering the following:
- Specific measures for high-rise buildings. The forthcoming
Building Safety Bill will consider issues which affect high-rise
(over 18m or more than 6 storeys) buildings only, and the specific
risks that these types of buildings present, regardless of the
tenure of the dwellings.
- Regulatory measures for electrical appliances. The Working
Group will not consider the regulatory framework around electrical
product safety as a whole. The Office for Product Safety and
Standards (OPSS) is undertaking a review of the legal framework for
product safety and a call for evidence is running until 3
June.
MHCLG Officials will summarise the findings of
the Working Group into a report, which will be used to inform the
wider consultation. Government will reach and conclude on any
policy decisions, using the work of the group and any proposed
changes will be assessed for their impact, including their costs,
benefits, risks and deliverability.
ARCH has established an internal ARCH working group comprising
relevant officers from 15 ARCH member councils to help inform and
evidence our input to the MHCLG Decent Homes Review Sounding
Board and we will use the expertise on this group to
inform our input to the MHCLG Electrical Safety Working Group and
we would welcome views and comments on electrical safety from all
ARCH member councils.
Any ARCH member council interested in submitting views and
comments on electrical safety in social housing should contact john
Bibby, ARCH Chief Executive john.bibby@arch-housing.org.uk.