The chair of Places for People expects it to be released from supervision in September.
The Housing Corporation stepped in last October after a boardroom row raised serious concerns about the governance of the 52,500-home association.

But Zenna Atkins, who took over as chair on 1 May, said that with a governance review completed by April and three new board members appointed, “there is probably very little now left to be done to satisfy the corporation”.

“I’d like to be out of supervision in September,” she said. “Summer is when people take their annual leave, so we won’t be getting to do much more before then.”

The previous chairman Sebert Cox stepped down at the end of May and Places for People agreed to an independent review of governance (HT 28 May, page 13).

David McWilliams, a senior consultant at the Institute of Directors who undertook the study, called it “the largest corporate governance review I’ve ever seen”.

Phase one, including working on the style and structure of reports, was completed by the time Atkins chaired her first board meeting in May. Phase two involves looking at the group’s operations structure and the make-up of the board.

A Housing Corporation spokesman said: “We can’t comment on a specific date, but we are pleased with the progress that Places for People is making.”

Source

Housing Today