Safety fears: Wigan Council blasted by watchdogs for failing to carry out gas safety checks in hundreds of homes

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) also said that the local authority has installed around 16,000 carbon monoxide detectors in its tenants’ homes, but failed to install them in another 10,000, again failing in its statutory duties.

And its report reveals that around 275 homes did not have valid electrical inspection certificates, while over 150 high-risk fire safety actions were overdue along with another 650 less serious ones not remedied.

The RSH said that “as a consequence of this breach, there was the potential for serious detriment to Wigan Council’s tenants.”

The report adds: “Through our engagement with Wigan Council, we identified it was not meeting all landlord health and safety testing requirements.

"We requested further information from Wigan Council to understand its statutory health and safety compliance performance in more detail.”

The regulator acknowledges that plans are now in place to rectify the shortcomings but it will continue to monitor of how it delivers its health and safety programmes.

Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said: "Wigan Council failed to meet our consumer standards and need to put things right promptly for tenants.

“It is vital that all social landlords have accurate, up-to-date health and safety data and use it to ensure their tenants’ homes are safe. As well as our ongoing investigations, we will be out on the front foot from next April inspecting landlords to make sure they are providing good-quality homes and services.”

A Wigan Council spokesperson said: “Ensuring our residents have access to good quality, affordable and safe homes is a key priority for Wigan Council.

“We have been engaging with the Regulator of Social Housing to ensure that the Council is ready for the upcoming new regulations which come into force in April 2024.

“We acknowledge there is some work to do before then to ensure we are fully compliant with its existing consumer standards and will continue to work with the regulator to ensure this is completed as soon as possible.”