Regulator praises North Lanarkshire Council gas safety team

North Lanarkshire Council has been praised by the Scottish Housing Regulator for keeping residents safe.

The Regulator reported the council was delivering a “strong performance” in providing annual gas safety checks in tenants’ homes.

According to a separate Health and Safety Executive report in 2017, carbon monoxide was the most common cause of death or injury in rented house reported incidents.

The SHR examined how landlords meet their gas safety duties for tenants across Scotland. Social landlords must maintain gas fittings and flues in tenants’ homes in a safe condition and carry out safety checks for appliances and flues at intervals of not more than twelve months.

North Lanarkshire Council is Scotland’s largest council landlord with responsibility for 37,000 homes.

The Regulator stated: “North Lanarkshire Council has a strong culture that promotes the importance of gas safety and consistently achieves full compliance with requirements for gas safety checks.”

John Apperson, investment and repairs manager with the council, said: “We are pleased with this very positive report from the Scottish Housing Regulator which highlights our efforts to prevent fatalities and make people aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide and gas explosions.

“The risks of not having gas appliances serviced properly can be severe. There is the potential for fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning and we want to try and make sure this doesn’t happen.

“We are proud of achieving a 100% record of gaining entry in recent years, although in a small number of cases we have had to force entry as people wouldn’t allow us access.

“These tests are all about keeping families and communities safe. It is vital people work with us to make sure this happens.”

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