A 4,000-home housing association has been warned by the social housing regulator that it needs to strengthen its risk management and internal controls after its governance rating was downgraded.

Orwell HA manages properties across Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge and Essex. It was hit with the downgrade following an in-depth assessment by the regulator, who said the association’s board needed to be strengthened.

The regulator said: “To support continued effective delivery, the board needs to strengthen its capacity to review and challenge its own governance arrangements. It needs to ensure that it reviews its governance performance in a rigorous and evidence-based way.”

It noted that Orwell has “reviewed its internal audit framework and is making changes in response to the findings and recommendations”. In a separate judgement, the regulator upgraded its rating for the 7,000-home housing association Castles and Coasts – formed last year from the merger of Two Castles and Derwent & Solway, in the north west.

By Patrick Mooney, editor