Agenda

To issue a welcome to those present, and to confirm if there are any apologies for absence.

Members will be asked to declare any interests they may have in the business to be discussed.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 January 2026 have been circulated, and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

The Chair is invited to make any announcements as they see fit.

Mr Raja submitted following Statement and Questions:

PUBLIC STATEMENT

Chair and Members of the Commission,

I am writing not to raise an individual complaint, but to draw attention to potential systemic governance risks within Housing; particularly in relation to complaints handling, procedural compliance and oversight transparency.

In August 2025, the Regulator of Social Housing identified gaps under the Transparency, Influence and Accountability standard, including enhanced complaints handling and formalised reporting on learning from complaints (Point A). In the same meeting, it was recorded that complaints were approximately 75% compliant with response timescales (Point B).

In June 2025, this Commission also considered an LGSCO maladministration finding relating to Housing procedural failures, including failure to notify statutory review rights and delays in responding to suitability concerns (Point C).

Since then, the corporate complaints function has been moved under the Housing Division itself (Point D), and a Regulator of Social Housing Oversight Board has been established reporting to Executive, with an intention to provide updates to Scrutiny (Point E).

Taken together, these developments highlight that complaint handling and procedural compliance are not peripheral matters; they are central governance risks.

My concern is not about disagreement with outcomes. It is about structural integrity. Specifically:

• Whether Stage One responses are consistently acknowledged within published timeframes.
• Whether escalation safeguards are sufficiently robust where compliant Stage One responses are not issued.
• Whether complaint investigations maintain visible independence following the structural move of the complaints team under Housing.
• Whether complaint performance data is scrutinised with the same rigour as operational metrics such as fire safety, voids or tenant satisfaction.
• Whether data usage practices in leasehold or enforcement matters are governed by clearly documented policy and oversight.

The minutes from November 2025 also record tenant frustration about difficulty contacting officers. My concern relates to what happens after contact is made; whether escalation pathways, review rights and complaint compliance are functioning as intended, and/or ignored. 

Housing is currently operating under significant statutory, financial and regulatory pressure. In that context, procedural integrity, transparent reporting and independent oversight become even more important.

This is not about individual disputes.

It is about ensuring that the governance framework around complaints is as strong as the framework around operational delivery.

Thank you.

QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMISSION

1. Complaint Acknowledgement Compliance

In light of the previously recorded 75% compliance rate with complaint timescales (Point B), what percentage of Housing Stage One complaints in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 were acknowledged within the published policy timeframe?

How many exceeded 10 working days before acknowledgement?

2. Procedural Escalation Safeguards

Given the June 2025 maladministration findings involving procedural failures (Point C), what formal safeguard now exists to prevent residents from being procedurally blocked from escalating to Stage Two or to the Ombudsman where a compliant Stage One response is not issued?

3. Independence of Complaint Investigations

Following the structural move of the complaints function under the Housing Division (Point D), who independently investigates complaints made about Housing  ...  view the full agenda text for item 5.

Any petitions received in accordance with Council procedures will be reported.

A verbal update will be given on the work of the Tenants Scrutiny Panel.

The Director of Housing submits a report providing an update to Members of the ‘headline’ Housing Register and Lettings data, relating to Leicester City Council’s Housing Register.

The Director of Housing submits a report to update members of the Housing Scrutiny Commission on our house building and acquisitions programmes.

The Director of Housing submits a report providing an update on the latest review of the Housing Pop-up Offices.

Members of the Commission will be asked to consider the work programme and make suggestions for additional items as it considers necessary.