ROOF Blog

An elderly couple were allowed to die in their freezing home after neighbours’ pleas to authorities for help were ignored, it has been claimed. Jean and Derek Randall were found dead in their home in Northampton by police as Britain was gripped by the coldest winter in 30 years. Sally Keeble, the pensioners’ MP, has now called for an inquiry claiming ‘major failures’ led to the couple being neglected by care workers. Mr Randall, 76, had been trying to get his wife, 79, into a care home after realising that his own flagging health left him incapable of caring for her. Neighbours claimed they repeatedly contacted the county council, NHS staff and charities for over a month about the couple’s plight, but their warnings were allegedly never acted on. Northamptonshire County Council said it was investigating.

Plans for a national register of social housing tower blocks in England are being outlined by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA). The social housing regulator’s national register will hold details on ownership, the number of properties and the age of the tower block. It will also list the date of the last fire risk assessment and the date of the next assessment. The TSA will begin collecting data from housing associations in February 2010. Phil Morgan, Executive Director, Tenant Services said, ‘The register will be a valuable tool, allowing us to build up a comprehensive picture of tower blocks in England. It will allow us to work with landlords to ensure that they are fully complying with their responsibilities to carry out risk assessments and taking appropriate action so that tenants are properly protected from the risk of fire.’

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have successfully prosecuted a housing society and a plumber following a boiler explosion that killed a tenant. Prosecution proceedings were started after tenant Christine Goodall, 65, was killed at her home in Gloucestershire in 2007 when an incorrectly decommissioned boiler exploded. The fatal incident occurred when Mrs Goodall lit a fire for the first time since the back boiler had been decommissioned in 1999.

An independent report has found that a government programme providing housing support to vulnerable and homeless people has resulted in ‘significant’ savings in the cost of other services. The report said the £1.6 billion invested through Supporting People has saved other services more than £3.4 billion through reduced costs in homelessness, tenancy failure, crime, health and residential care. It has also lead to other benefits including reducing the risk of social exclusion, increasing educational chances for children and improving the quality of life for vulnerable people.

A report looking at how asbestos is managed and removed from people’s homes has revealed major differences in how local authorities and registered social landlords notify tenants of the likely risks. The report, from construction union UCATT, recommends that all social landlords maintain an asbestos register of properties, and conduct up-to-date house surveys.

A report out today warns that one in eight tenants in sheltered housing in England is at risk of malnutrition. The study from the Group on Nutrition and Sheltered Housing found malnutrition to be present in 14 per cent of residents, and was more common in older residents, women and those who had lived in sheltered accommodation for longer.