Gas, oil and solid fuel safety policy

At Magna, we are totally committed to ensuring the safety of our customers, colleagues and others who work with us. Our approach to managing the risk of gas, oil and solid fuel safety is central to this commitment.

The purpose of this policy is to set out the principles that shape our gas, oil and solid fuel safety standards and procedures, ensuring that we meet, as a minimum, all legal and regulatory requirements in the way we design, construct, manage, service and maintain our homes.

Scope of this policy

This policy applies to:

• All properties during the construction phase where Magna has an installation and/or commissioning responsibility.

• The installation, servicing and maintenance in all properties where Magna has a repairing and servicing responsibility. This excludes shared ownership properties and other leases where the responsibility for maintenance rests with a third party.

• Offices and commercial buildings in our ownership or management where we have serviceable appliances.

• All contractors and suppliers undertaking work on our behalf, including the Magna in house maintenance service.

Policy statement

The safety of our customers, colleagues and contractors is at the heart of what we do at Magna. We are committed to ensuring that our arrangements to deliver the comprehensive range of gas, oil and solid fuel safety management activities described in the scope consistently meet legal and regulatory requirements and achieve our Regulator’s Consumer Standard, as an absolute minimum. Where appropriate we will strive to achieve what is considered to be industry best practice.

In delivering this policy objective we are committed to ensuring that all those involved in managing electrical safety at Magna demonstrate the appropriate competency levels and, where necessary, third-party accreditation. We will follow the Health & Safety Executive’s HSE) Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) and ensure all industry best practice guidance is properly considered.

We will take all reasonable measures to carry out annual safety checks on all gas, oil and solid fuel appliances installed by us as well as those identified as tenant-owned appliances in our properties.

We will take all reasonable measures to maintain installations, appliances and associated flues that we are responsible for in a safe condition. This will include commissioning regular and routine servicing and any repairs required. Magna will not service, repair or replace tenant-owned appliances.

We are committed to building in a “golden thread” of quality from a gas, oil and solid fuel safety perspective through the early stages of design, through the construction phase into management and maintenance of our homes.

We will consult with customers on gas, oil and solid fuel safety related activities, inform them about the outcome of assessments, ensure awareness, provide advice and listen and respond to any safety related concerns.

The safety of our customers is paramount. We will ensure that resources and funding required to deliver gas, oil and solid fuel safety related works are prioritised, taking into account a risk-based approach to the urgency of the work.

As a core safety service, we will ensure that performance on gas, oil and solid fuel safety activity is regularly scrutinised to ensure continuous improvement and to ensure that any lessons are embedded.

Every room fitted with a gas point, combustible fuel appliance, or where a flue passes through, will have either a sealed 10-year battery life or mains powered audible CO detector.

Where there is a requirement identified to install specialist CO detection for customers with specific needs then Magna will install this equipment.

Competency

All suppliers appointed to undertake gas safety checks and servicing must be registered on the Gas Safe Register. Contractors undertaking oil safety checks and servicing must be registered on the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC) Register and those undertaking solid fuel checks and servicing must be registered on the Heating Equipment Testing and Approval Scheme (HETAS) Register. All suppliers’ employees must be suitably qualified to undertake the work.

Gas safety records

Following the annual gas safety check, we will provide each household with a current, valid annual Landlord’s Gas Safety Record for the type of appliance(s) fitted. We will provide new records for newly occupied properties following void periods.

We will install and/or check and/or replace CO detectors during any annual services we carry out and whenever a new or replacement fuel appliance is installed. The check will be recorded on the service record.

Gaining access for gas, oil and solid fuel safety checks

It is a condition of individual tenancy agreements that tenants must provide access to their properties for checks that we are required to do by law.

We will act appropriately and in accordance with regulatory and legal requirements in gaining access to premises to undertake gas, oil and solid fuel safety checks. In doing so, we will consider the circumstances before initiating legal action against a tenant who fails to allow access for this purpose. We will maintain records of all access attempts to demonstrate that we have taken all reasonable steps to complete a service check, in line with our procedures.

Where we are unable to gain access to a property for a gas, oil and solid fuel safety check, we will make every attempt to gain access, including seeking to obtain an injunction from the local county court, or forcing entry, where meters are located externally we may cap these. An order for costs may be sought as part of any injunction.

Our Gas Safety Standard and Procedure

We want to make sure that we are really clear about the standards we are working to when it comes to gas safety management. We have developed a Gas Safety Standard, which defines what we will do to promote gas safety. The standard explains who is responsible for delivering the service and details how frequently we expect to carry out specific activities in customers’ homes, in common areas and on estates.

The standard is supported by a clear procedure and instructions to ensure that the services are delivered consistently by our internal teams and by specialist contractors. The standard and procedure are kept under constant review to ensure they are fit for purpose in a fast-changing environment.

Responsibilities for Gas Safety Management

The Director of Customer Operations is the accountable person in relation to all aspects of gas safety management at Magna and is responsible for the development and review of the Gas Safety Policy and Gas Safety Standard, ensuring that these meet all regulatory requirements and guidance.

The Head of Building Safety and Compliance is responsible for operational delivery of gas safety management activities, for maintaining accurate gas safety related property data and is responsible for reporting on gas safety management in line with governance arrangements. The Head of Building Safety and Compliance is responsible for ensuring that customers are effectively consulted on all aspects of gas safety in their homes and estates.

All colleagues have a responsibility for ensuring that the work they undertake in delivering our policies and standards is fit for purpose.

Governance, Performance Management and Review

This policy, its associated standard and operational procedure will be monitored and reviewed by the Director of Customer Operations Management annually. The policy will be considered and approved annually by Board.

A range of performance measures and indicators, relating directly to the Gas Safety Standard, are reported to managers and directors as appropriate. High level performance indicators are reported to Board on a regular basis in line with their approved balanced scorecard.

Our performance on gas safety, including lessons learned from incidents will form part of the quarterly report to the Health and Safety Forum and will be included in the annual report to Board on corporate health and safety