Resident Safety
Unfortunately this is probably the most worrying and serious issue I’ve had to write about since starting this site. If I’m honest, it’s the sort of post I’d hoped never to have to write. It’s the sort of post that highlights the concerns many people have been raising for a very long time. The factors that I’m about to share with you have caused deep concern and worry to to me, to the person who made me aware of these issues, and to the team who conducted the inspection. However, the only people not bothered by it appear to be GreenSquareAccord who have again opted to ignore, deny, bully, and (as of date of publication) so far failed to rectify.
This post is going to recap many of the same concerns I’ve been raising over the last seven years. If you like, this is the perfect case (albeit deeply concerning for us all) to again prove that the ‘GSA way’ is not working.
The Background
For any new visitors (welcome), I started this site about 18 months ago after it was clear that GreenSquareAccord were not listening to their residents. If they did occasionally listen, they were ignoring any issues raised. So this site became somewhere to ensure that the issue weren’t just swept under the carpet, somewhere to store them in the public domain. This approach has to a certain degree worked. If nothing else, it has helped to connect GreenSquareAccord residents. For the first month I would actively check the traffic for this website, I remember being delighted the first time I had eleven visitors in one day! As I write this it is 20th March, here is the traffic overview for this month thus far - 370 visitors. Below is the breakdown of the traffic sources and the top ten search words search words that have drvien traffic from Google:
After residents from other Housing Associations started reaching out, I created a wider website to provide support to all housing association residents, not just with GreenSquareAccord. This new site Housing Sector also started to gain traffic.
In order to be fair to GreenSquareAccord, their listing did garner more traffic but this was due to the contacts I had made via this site. I am hopeful that over time as other residents find the site, I can populate other providers listings.
Here is the GreenSquareAccord listing. And here is a summary of the issue that I would like to your attention.
The issues with Court Oak House
The issues at Court Oak House (a block of flats for 12 vulnerable residents in Birmingham) was brought to my attention via the Housing Sector website.
Although I haven’t been able to fully ascertain the exact amount GreenSquareAccord are paid by the Local Authority to provide safe, warm and secure homes, with appropriate fire exits and alarms, I have been told the figure is approximately £35k pa per resident. In short, the funding is there. Here is a copy of a Fire Risk Assessment from December 2021 issued to GreenSquareAccord Limited on the 10th January 2022.
As a resident of GreenSquareAccord, I’d like to think that they would prioritise fixing any issues raised within supported housing. If they are unable to provide such a basic level of support to vulnerable residents, then what chance do the rest of us have? As a taxpayer, I’d like to think that the money being spent by Birmingham City Council (to house vulnerable individuals) is being spent with a provider who can achieve a basic level of safety.
Here is another inspection, this one was conducted on 22nd December 2022 This was following on from concerns raised with GreenSquareAccord on the 11th December 2022. As you can see, old issues still not addressed and a whole host of new ones.
The issues with GreenSquareAccord
Any response from GreenSquareAccord follows the same tried and tested path: we can’t blame them, it works for them, it is the ‘GSA Way’.
Step One - Ignore
This is done in several ways including:
Ignore emails
Forward any emails to the correct team who then ignore it, put it back in queue, repeat
Use of communication bans to warrant ignoring of emails that raise concerns
Block emails and social media accounts, which is done to ensure the senior leadership team can deny all knowledge at a later date
Step Two - Provide inadequate responses
Once the issue can no longer be ignored, it must then be contained:
Via emails from people unqualified to answer questions
Arranging Teams meetings with people unqualified to answer questions
Kick the ball around in a game of ‘hot potato’ until people are on annual leave or resign
Remove people from email trails in order to ensure the issue is kept out of public domain - GreenSquareAccord claim of ‘transparency’ is a ‘buzz word’ not a behaviour
Step Three - Fail to adhere to agreements
Ignore timeframes
Leave vulnerable residents at risk
Having ridden this cash cow for long enough, it’s time to wash hands and walk away, leaving vulnerable residents at risk
Time to quantify the statements made
Step One - Ignore, as stated above, this website was set up to support residents ignored by GreenSquareAccord. This week alone, we have had to intervene on behalf of a disabled lady left without heating. She too had been held in the eternal loop of “We hope to respond within 10 working days”.
As previously shared you can read examples here, here, here, and also here. Ignore the fanfare - GreenSquareAccord still prefer to ignore, this is the GSA Way.
Step Two - Provide inadequate responses, initial responses were provided by (without naming names) GreenSquareAccord’s Housing Support Manager, Care & Support. However it was painfully clear that this person wasn’t fully up to speed with the issues and hadn’t received adequate training, yet was unlucky enough to be the person responsible for responding to residents. This feels a lot like the concerns previously raised earlier this year around the toxic culture, the blame game, and what we labeled the Clique Culture, within GreenSquareAccord, all of which lead to feelings of ineffectiveness.
I’m not going to list the emails here but you can find an overview of the whole debacle over on the Housing Sector website.
A member of the team who is qualified to consider, discuss and make informed decisions was Helen Jones MIFSM. I do not doubt her expertise and abilities, and neither do GreenSquareAccord. However as previously reported on this site, Helen can propose and offer guidance as much as she likes to GreenSquareAccord, this does not mean GreenSquareAccord will act in accordance with Helen’s solid advice. There is little evidence to support that GreenSquareAccord did this time either.
During the email discussion, GreenSquareAccord repeatedly removed me from copy. Fortunately, other more concerned parties added me back into the conversation. The Housing Sector website reported the issue and shared it online, which is apparently far too transparent for GreenSquareAccord who like to ‘wash their dirty laundry indoors’.
It wouldn’t be until the 11th January that GreenSquareAccords CEO Ruth Cooke would throw her considerable authority into action with this response:
Thank you for your email. Rather than sending multiple requests to different people within the organisation, please could I ask you to direct all queries to Ben Taylor. As you know Ben is your main point of contact and is seeking to arrange a meeting with you and fellow trustees as soon as possible, which I suspect will assist in moving forward your queries. Perhaps you could let him have some dates at your earliest convenience.
Best wishes
Ruth
Ruth Cooke
Chief Executive Officer
Step Three - Fail to adhere to agreements, none of the actions raised in the above mentioned report or the subsequent reported findings gathered by Birmingham City Council were actioned.
Who really cares?
Issues have been raised and acknowledged, risks clearly proven, vulnerable residents remain at risk; yet the provider hasn’t acted in accordance with legal legislation, hasn’t rectified issues, and has chosen to ignore everyone while still taking payment.
What happens next?
Who cares?
Birmingham City Council
Surely the council who have funded this risk-ridden home for vulnerable adults? Initially, they did appear bothered enough to carry out their own inspection. However, they appear unable to enforce their own requests.
Dear all,
Thank you for facilitating the inspection at the above address on 22nd December 2022
Please find attached the property report, included within are a list of remedial works required, please resolve these within the specified timeframe and send photo/video in reply to this email.
Many thanks for your continued cooperation.
Kind Regards
Olga ************
Exempt Accommodation Officer
Supported Exempt Accommodation Inspection Team
City Housing Directorate
Email sent to GreenSquareAccord 22nd December 2022
However, by the 4th January 2023 with GreenSquareAccord failing to address any issues, Birmingham City Council clearly stated that they were impotent in dealing with such an obtuse care provider:
Thank you for your e-mail.
Usually, the enforcement team would get involved. However, our team does not yet have enforcement powers and our management is debating which team would take this responsibility
Olga *********
Exempt Accommodation Officer
Supported Exempt Accommodation Inspection Team
City Housing Directorate
Maybe Birmingham City Council should reconsider who they pay and trust to provide housing to their vulnerable citizens.
Preet Kaur Gill MP - Member of Parliament for Edgbaston
The MP for the area would surely have a vested interest in such shortfallings. Well she did, to a certain degree. However she failed to throw her weight behind such a plight, and did not (to the best of my knowledge) take up with GreenSquareAccord:
Dear Mr. Ben Jenkins,
Thank you for your email and for bringing this matter to my attention.
I would be very grateful if you would continue to update me regarding these repairs as if these are not done, I may be able to contact Green Square Accord directly.
Yours sincerely,
Preet Kaur Gill MP | Member of Parliament for EdgbastonEmail response 19th December 2022
Housing Ombudsman
The Housing Ombudsman probably would be interested, however it will take almost two years to garner a response. At which point, GreenSquareAccord will probably have removed the property from their portfolio and Ruth Cooke will probably have moved on to providing excellent financial advice and profits to the board of another housing association, the vulnerable residents would be left at risk, whilst GreenSquareAccord continued to bank the money.
Local Press
Squandered city money, vulnerable residents, a city council unable to ensure care providers provide the level or care, and the very real risk to life! I’ve emailed them all, twice, and not received one response.
Sadly it takes a loss of life before it becomes newsworthy.
GreenSquareAccord
Everything we do at GreenSquareAccord is about people – whether that’s providing a good quality, safe home, or helping someone to live an independent life.
Fire safety remains an ongoing concern for GreenSquareAccord residents. It has also been of concern to the Regulator Of Social Housing. Who can forgot when Ruth Cooke threw the CEO of Accord Elisabeth Buggins under the bus when she suggested that the merger had discovered considerable fire risks from the Accord stock. Another example of ruthless Ruth Cooke blaming others whilst riding the cash cow all the way to the bank!
By 4th April 2022, GreenSquareAccord had already recognised that there was much to be done to ensure the care and support homes within their property portfolio were safe and in accordance to fire regulations.
GreenSquareAccord had already implemented procedures to strengthen the following :
Expanded Building Safety Team, with new roles to support addressing the fire risk actions and to provide support to those working in Specialised Housing
Developing a GSA strategy - further alignment
Risk assessed programmes of work
Sharing of Fire Risk Assessments and of fire safety data/information with their partners, care providers, occupiers and customers
They had also mapped out next steps:
They decided to fire risk assess the whole legacy Organisations applicable buildings using an external provider to provide a consistent approach
Care and Support premises were completed first
The fire risk assessments were undertaken by competent, registered fire risk assessors and the assessments are held in a cloud risk-based management system
This enabled them to roll this process out quickly and effectively.
Each fire risk action is also held individually within the cloud-based system and is given a timeframe for completion
This allows them to ensure actions are managed effectively by reaching the right person or contractor to ensure it is actioned sufficiently and hold evidence of this
Each FRA is individually certificated. following PAS 79 methodology, providing GSA with reassurance that it is suitable
Yet somehow Court Oak House (a GreenSquareAccord property not Accord) had been forgotten, or perhaps these sweeping changes had not been implemented as agreed. GreenSquareAccord themselves agreed in April 2022 that the Fire Safety Act had:
indicated a number of improvements GreenSquareAccord had been able to make quickly and needed to make in the near future
Understand their overall risk
Allowed GreenSquareAccord to adopt best practice and move forwards consistently, supported by their Primary Authority Scheme Partners
Ensure fire risk is considered holistically for a building, considering the physical building, management and occupancy characteristics
From their own documents, GreenSquareAccord employed an external company to carry out a full and concise inspection on the 76-plus sheltered houses within their portfolio. If this is the case, then GreenSquareAccord would have been made aware of the issues at Court Oak House but ignored them.
The Vulnerable Residents - they certainly care. Their homes are unsafe. They are at risk. And now they likely to be forced from their homes.
The Future of Court Oak House
Well, it’s an uncertain one.
While Ruth Cooke and Chief Finance Officer Joanna Makinson were speaking at the Housing Finance Conference and Exhibition, perhaps they found a politically correct way to celebrate how the sector really is the Golden Goose that keeps on laying, how funds from Local Authorities magically turn into profits bypassing the intended recipients entirely. At the same time, GreenSquareAccord has employed yet more unsuspecting Board members to either be corrupted by the GreenSquareAccord culture or to bring sweeping and much needed changes. Who knows? While Steve Hayes has reminded the sector how they should behave in another example of ‘pink-washing’, and while Rachel Crownshaw continues her garden leave at residents’ expense (we assume), the vulnerable residents of Court Oak House have been told that their homes will be closed.
What will become of the residents? Worryingly I have no answers nor reassurances from GreenSquareAccord.
We will continue to meet, support and regularly communicate with all appropriate parties concerning 150 Court Oak House, to ensure the appropriate levels of safety and support are in place for all tenants.
Kind regards
Ben
Benjamin Taylor
Director Of Operations (Support) GreenSquareAccordEmail dated 20th February 2023
Of course had the appropriate levels of safety and support been in place for all tenants, we wouldn’t be at this point. Mr Taylor seems to have missed the GreenSquareAccord memo in relation to ‘putting people at the heart of everything they do’. Perhaps just as concerning is the chance that Spring Housing Association where Mr Taylor is a Board Member will take over the running of Court Oak House. If this happens, let’s hope they step up and address the many safety issues at this property.
In conclusion
There isn’t anywhere for many residents to go when they are ignored. Housing associations like GreenSquareAccord are able to take from our communities without upholding their civic duties and responsibilities. By sharing this here and via the Housing Sector website I’m able to put this into the public domain where it may also be ignored. However at least now it’s part of the public record, and searchable on the internet so anyone who wants to find it can.