As part of our Meet the Team series, we introduce Mike Brook, whose extensive experience at Leeds City Council has uniquely equipped him to understand the challenges Local Authorities face. Here, he shares insights into his background, his role at Home Safe, and how we are supporting councils in addressing mounting pressures to improve housing standards across the sector.

What is your role at Home Safe?

As Scheme Manager, I ensure the effective day-to-day running of our Local Authority partners' licensing schemes. This involves close collaboration with the team and Local Authority management, identifying opportunities to improve service delivery and swiftly implementing those improvements. A key focus of my role is driving efficiency and ensuring the schemes operate smoothly, consistently meet performance criteria, and achieve their agreed targets and objectives.

What is your background?

I am a qualified Environmental Health Officer with over 37 years of experience at Leeds City Council, including 15 years as Service Manager for Private Sector Housing. During that time, I managed all aspects of regulation and enforcement, HMO and Selective Licensing, landlord engagement, and the council's Landlord Accreditation Scheme. This role provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the private rented sector and the challenges it faces. At Home Safe, I now leverage this experience to oversee the delivery of licensing schemes for Local Authorities.

What drew you to work in the public sector?

I have always had a strong belief that public services are essential to ensure services are available for all. After qualifying as an EHO, I gained experience across various fields, including Food Safety, Health & Safety, and Pollution Control. I quickly discovered that my true passion lies in Housing. The ability to make a tangible difference in people's lives by ensuring they have a safe and warm home is what drives me in this profession.

In your experience, what are the biggest challenges Local Authorities face in delivering successful licensing schemes?

In recent years, financial constraints have made it challenging for many councils to provide even some basic services. With increasing pressures, housing hasn’t always been prioritised, leading to enforcement teams being reduced to unmanageable levels and creating significant challenges in delivering licensing schemes effectively. This is a common concern we hear from councils. To overcome these obstacles, authorities need to adopt proactive, targeted strategies that maximize their available resources.

How does your role at Home Safe help Local Authorities address these challenges?

My experience in developing and implementing Licensing Schemes in Leeds allows me to bring practical, first-hand knowledge to Local Authorities, helping them manage their schemes more efficiently. These schemes can be costed effectively and managed within budget, without placing additional pressure on the general fund, or internal resource.

When run properly, licensing schemes should be cost-neutral while delivering significant benefits to the sector, such as raising standards and improving landlord behavior. Home Safe ensures that housing teams can operate their schemes smoothly and deliver the essential improvements to housing standards.

What sets Home Safe apart when it comes to understanding the needs of Local Authorities?

Home Safe has a deep understanding of the market and the complexities of licensing, thanks to our experienced team with decades of expertise in the private rented sector and leadership roles within Local Authorities. This knowledge allows us to understand the challenges faced by our partners and deliver solutions that are proven to work.

Home Safe’s ability to undertake all aspects of a licensing scheme from initial application and processing to property inspection and compliance management makes our offering to Local Authorities not only comprehensive but quite unique.

What do you consider to be the most important aspect of your role at Home Safe?

The ability to make a real difference and assist councils in maximising their resources. Delivering a successful licensing scheme offers a real opportunity to make an impact to tenant safety.