More than 100 electrical safety checks overdue in Crawley council homes, according to new report

Details shared during a meeting of the audit committee on Monday (March 17) showed that 143 homes were overdue an inspection as of the end of January.

The figures were a vast improvement on those at the end of March 2023, when 1,199 out of the council’s 8,000 properties had not been inspected – but there were still concerns among the committee.

Tina Belben (Con, Pound Hill North & Forge Wood) said “[It’s] 143 properties. If we had a social housing company that had that on their books, we would be jumping up and down. I know 100% perhaps is impossible, but it’s so important electrical safety.”

Mrs Belben also wondered whether the council would be properly covered by its insurance should an ‘awful accident’ occur.

The council is allowed access to the homes it owns to carry out safety checks once advanced warning has been given to the tenant by letter. Should they be refused access or be unable to gain access after three attempts, the case should then be passed to the legal department so that action can be taken.

But Mrs Belben questioned whether that was happening as the report to the committee said there was ‘no evidence available’ to show that it had.

Siraj Choudhury, the council’s head of governance, people & performance, said Crawley Homes had been working with contractors to make sure the letters were in place and assured her that cases were now being passed to the legal team.

As well as sharing the concerns about electrical inspections, Hazel Hellier (Con, Furnace Green) pointed to a handful of overdue fire risk assessments listed in the report.

She said: “I think we are really putting ourselves at risk. I would have thought that if anything happened that the council would be extremely liable – and I don’t think the publicity would be too good for us.”

Mr Choudhury said that, as of mid-February, the council was ‘100% compliant’ when it came to completing fire risk assessments.