Commentary on provisions of Act Monitoring and enforcement Schedule 3: Regulatory and enforcement powers Clarify grounds for use of enforcement powers
Schedule 3, paragraphs 3(a), 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18(c) and 19 amend sections 206, 249, 252A, 253, 255, 259, 260, 269 and 269A of the HRA 2008 to add failure by a registered provider (and in the case of section 206, a risk of failure by a registered provider) to meet a standard under sections 193, 194 or 194C as a specific ground for the regulator to exercise these enforcement powers. The standards referenced relate to consumer, economic, and information and transparency regulation. These amendments relate to the repeal of sections 198A and 198B, which are replaced by specific grounds in each section (with modifications tailored to the specific power where appropriate). These tailored grounds provide greater clarity on when the regulator can use each of these powers, and ensures all grounds have been carefully considered to ensure they are appropriate:
Section 206 gives the regulator the power to hold an inquiry;
Section 249 gives the regulator the power to order a registered provider to transfer management functions following an inquiry or audit;
Section 252A gives the regulator the power to appoint advisers to local authorities or require a local authority to appoint an adviser to assist it in relation to its social housing affairs;
Section 253 gives the regulator the power to order the transfer of a land by a private registered provider of social housing following an audit or inquiry;
Section 255 gives the regulator the power to amalgamate one registered society with another following an audit or inquiry;
Section 259 gives the regulator the power to remove or suspend officers during an inquiry;
Section 260 gives the regulator the power to remove or suspends officers following an audit or inquiry;
Section 269 gives the regulator the power to appoint new officers to a registered provider;
Section 269A gives the regulator the power to censure a local authority during or following an inquiry.
	Schedule 3, paragraphs 13 and 14 amend sections 256 (restrictions on dealings during inquiry) and 257 (restrictions on dealings following inquiry) of the HRA 2008 to add failure by a registered provider to meet a regulatory standard under section 194 as a ground for the regulator to use these enforcement powers. This is because it is only appropriate for the regulator to have power to restrict a provider’s financial dealings in cases where financial mismanagement has been found or is suspected, which is an issue relating to the regulator’s economic regulatory remit only. As such, it was not considered appropriate to replace the ground in section 198A.
	Paragraph 20 amends section 269B as a consequential change arising from the new enforcement grounds for issuing a censure notice added to section 269A, so that where a local authority responds to a censure notice issued under this section, the response must explain why it doesn’t think it has failed to meet a regulatory standard (if this is why the notice was issued).