Whistleblowing

About RSH

The Regulator of Social Housing (the regulator) regulates registered suppliers of social housing to advertise a viable, environment friendly and well-governed social housing sector in a position to ship properties that meet a variety of wants. Registered suppliers of social housing embody housing associations, housing cooperatives, native authorities and for-profit suppliers.

The regulator’s statutory objectives ^{[footnote 1]} are as follows:

Financial regulation goal

To make sure that registered suppliers of social housing are financially viable and correctly managed, and carry out their capabilities effectively and economically
To assist the supply of social housing adequate to fulfill affordable calls for (together with by encouraging and selling personal funding in social housing)
To make sure that worth for cash is obtained from public funding in social housing
To make sure that an unreasonable burden shouldn’t be imposed (immediately or not directly) on public funds; and
To protect in opposition to the misuse of public funds.

Shopper regulation goal

To assist the supply of social housing that’s well-managed and of acceptable high quality
To make sure that precise or potential tenants of social housing have an acceptable diploma of selection and safety
To make sure that tenants of social housing have the chance to be concerned in its administration and to carry their landlords to account, and
To encourage registered suppliers of social housing to contribute to the environmental, social and financial wellbeing of the areas by which the housing is located.

We publish details about who we’re and what we do on our website. We additionally publish extra detailed details about how we regulate the sector.

What’s whistleblowing?

The time period whistleblowing is used to explain the actions of a employee who fairly believes they’re appearing within the public curiosity by passing on info which can point out sure varieties of wrongdoing. In passing on that info, they’re making a disclosure. The wrongdoing will usually (though not essentially) be one thing they’ve witnessed at work.

The regulator as a ‘prescribed individual’

Since 5 November 2019, the regulator has been a prescribed individual below the Public Curiosity Disclosure Act 1998 in relation to issues referring to registered suppliers of social housing. Previous to that date, the prescribed individual was the Houses and Communities Company, which calls itself Houses England.

The function of a prescribed individual is to offer employees with a mechanism to make their public curiosity disclosure to an impartial physique the place the employee doesn’t really feel in a position to disclose the matter on to their employer, or the place they’ve made a disclosure, however their employer has didn’t act.

As a prescribed individual, the regulator should report yearly on qualifying disclosures made to it.

‘Qualifying disclosure’ means any disclosure of knowledge which, within the affordable perception of the employee making the disclosure, is made within the public curiosity and tends to point out a number of of the next: – a felony offence has been dedicated, is being dedicated, or is prone to be dedicated; an individual has failed, is failing, or is prone to fail to adjust to a authorized obligation; a miscarriage of justice has occurred, is going on, or is prone to happen; the well being and security of a person has been, is being, or is prone to be endangered; the atmosphere has been, is being or is prone to be broken.

A qualifying disclosure can also be info tending to point out any matter falling inside any one of many previous paragraphs has been or is prone to be intentionally hid.

Receiving referrals

The regulator considers all referrals and data obtained, together with these which take the type of whistleblowing disclosures. We take into account whether or not we have now the remit to analyze the referral, and the place we do, we comply with the strategy defined on our net pages (hyperlinks above). In circumstances the place the problem referred is exterior our remit, we take into account whether or not it will be acceptable to refer the matter to a different organisation higher positioned to reply.

Quantity and final result of employees’ whistleblowing disclosures

Between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, the regulator obtained 24 referrals which we thought of qualifying disclosures about issues referring to the regulation of registered suppliers of social housing in England (disclosures).

Variety of disclosures obtained in 2022-23 and topic to preliminary evaluate	24
Variety of disclosures referred for extra detailed consideration in 2022-23	13
Variety of disclosures investigated	5
Variety of disclosures leading to or contributing to regulatory motion	1

Abstract of the motion taken

All of the disclosures obtained have been topic to an preliminary evaluate by our Referrals and Regulatory Enquiries crew who thought of whether or not the issues raised have been inside our remit and whether or not they represented a potential breach of our regulatory requirements. Because of this, 13 circumstances have been referred by way of our inner processes for extra detailed consideration. There have been no circumstances introduced ahead from 2021-22.

Of the 13 circumstances topic to an in depth consideration, we went on to analyze 5 circumstances, as they demonstrated a possible breach of the regulatory requirements or a problem which required regulatory intervention.

In every of the 5 circumstances investigated that have been disclosed in 2022-23, we contacted the registered supplier and sought their response to the problems raised. In a few of these circumstances, we additionally requested the whistleblower for additional info or proof to substantiate the allegations.

For 23 of the circumstances which we closed in 2022-23, , we have been happy that there had not been a breach of our regulatory requirements and that tenants weren’t in danger because of the issues raised. Within the 5 circumstances that we investigated, we obtained assurance from the registered supplier that it was conscious of the problems raised and was responding appropriately, taking motion to handle and mitigate any dangers arising consequently.

The remaining case which we investigated, resulted in, or contributed to regulatory motion being taken in opposition to a registered supplier within the type of the publication of a Regulatory Notice or Regulatory Judgement. The place we conclude {that a} registered supplier is non-compliant with our regulatory standards, we’ll have interaction with them intensively as they take motion to resolve the problems. On this case, we labored with the registered supplier as they developed plans to treatment the breach of the requirements and proceed to carry them to account for delivering these plans.