Gosport MP hits out “hapless” council after damning report on housing was published

MP for Gosport Dame Caroline Dinenage said Gosport Borough Council has been given the lowest possible rating by a government regulator for the management of its social housing, a grade C4.

Dame Caroline was addressing MP Alison McGovern, Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution in the United Kingdom, in the House of Commons earlier this month.

Dame Caroline said: “The Minister will understand that this is a deeply worrying time for the 3,000 Gosport tenants and for local council taxpayers.

She added: “What is not helping is the constant ambiguity, uncertainty and speculation from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the borough’s future, compounding the chaos and confusion from the council’s already quite hapless leadership.”

Gosport Borough Council received a “C4” judgement from the Regulator for Social Housing over “very serious failings” in its role as a landlord, including overdue safety checks and weak communication with tenants.

The council owns 2,900 social housing homes, and is the first time the council has been inspected by the new regulator. The report highlighted serious issues across safety and quality standards. It identified more than 900 overdue fire safety remedial actions, with some dating back to 2012.

The regulator found that more than 100 electrical safety remedial actions had been outstanding for up to seven years, while more than 300 electrical safety checks were overdue, with more than half overdue for longer than 12 months.

In its response, the council said it was taking action to address the regulator’s findings.

A spokesperson has said: “Gosport Borough Council is committed to making fundamental changes to deliver safe, high-quality homes and services for our tenants, following the regulatory judgement issued by the Regulator of Social Housing.

“The council acknowledges its housing service faces long-standing issues and is already taking action to address the regulator’s findings.

“We are working closely with both the regulator and our residents to develop and implement a comprehensive improvement plan.”

It added its priorities include:

• Updating and improving the accuracy of information on the condition of tenants’ homes.
• Completing overdue safety checks and remedial actions, with clear timescales and regular reporting.
• Strengthening tenant engagement, ensuring residents have meaningful opportunities to influence services and hold the Council to account.
• Improving transparency and communication, so tenants are kept informed about progress and what they can expect.
• Working in partnership with local agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and ensure neighbourhoods are safe and well-managed.

It comes as the government is also seeking to reorganise local government in Hampshire, with smaller boroughs merging to create unitary authorities.

Having postponed the mayoral elections for Hampshire and the Solent until 2028, the government has also asked 63 local authorities if they wish to cancel local elections in May 2026.

In response, Councillor Peter Chegwyn (Lib Dem, Forton), leader of Gosport Borough Council, has said there are no plans to cancel local elections next year.