Haringey Council Chief Executive Retires Amid Housing Safety Failings
Andy Donald will step down as Haringey Council Chief Executive after regulators found serious fire safety failings and misleading communications regarding public housing.
Chief Executive Andy Donald has brought forward his retirement from Haringey London Borough Council following a scathing report from the Regulator of Social Housing. The regulator assigned the council's housing provision a C4 consumer grade, the lowest possible rating, citing very serious failings in public housing duties, specifically regarding repairs and fire safety.
The report detailed a backlog of nearly 4,000 overdue remedial fire safety actions, with 1,400 classified as high risk. Additionally, the regulator concluded that communications from the council, including a November 2025 report sent by Donald, were misleading because they failed to disclose known serious failings that the council was obligated to report.
The current Green administration has launched an internal review to determine if the previous Labour administration misled regulators about fire risks in council estates. While Haringey Labour expressed disturbance over the findings and supported an investigation, the council noted Donald's achievements over his five-year tenure, such as securing the London Borough of Culture 2027 title and improving Ofsted ratings for special educational needs services.
Donald will step down once an interim replacement is appointed. However, critics have questioned whether he should be permitted to take early retirement without a formal inquiry or whether other senior officers and elected councillors share responsibility for the oversight failures.
