The strategic housing services provided by Medway Council are 'good' and have 'promising prospects for improvement', according to a report published today (11 February) by the Audit Commission.
On a scale from zero to three stars, the Audit Commission inspection team gave the service a 'good', two-star rating. Services covered by the inspection included homelessness and housing advice, private sector housing and work to create new affordable homes.
The inspectors found that the Council and its partner organisations are successfully reducing homelessness and providing a high number of good-quality affordable homes. Effective use is made of the private rented sector and housing associations to find accommodation, and steps are being taken to tackle poor housing conditions. But the Council needs to do more to improve people's access to services and to ensure value for money.
Julie Watts, Audit Commission Lead Housing Inspector for the South East, said:
'Working well with partner organisations has helped the Council to provide a high number of good-quality affordable homes and improve the condition of private rented accommodation. This, combined with a strong focus on preventing homelessness, is having a positive impact on the quality of life for people who need homes. The Council has responded very positively to our previous inspection in 2008. It has worked well to address the weaknesses identified then and has put plans in place to improve further.'
Strengths include:
- The Council's understanding of the local and sub-regional housing markets has led to the development of a strong housing strategy. It is implementing this strategy in collaboration with a broad range of partners.
- The Council's pragmatic and flexible approach means that sustainable development continues despite the adverse economic conditions.
- People can get comprehensive information and advice about their housing options in several ways.
- A better focus on preventing homelessness has had positive results. The Council is making effective use of the private rented sector to find accommodation and has a proactive approach to tackling poor housing conditions.
Weaknesses include:
- Visitors to the customer contact point often wait too long to be seen and some elements of the contact centre are not focused on customers' needs
- Planning policy does not fully reflect identified housing need and the strategic approach to rural housing is under-developed.
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations. These include:
- Ensure that people are seen more quickly at the customer contact points for all housing related enquires.
- Use all available powers to bring empty homes back into use.
- Develop a full understanding of why the costs of services vary widely.
- As a designated growth area, Medway Council and its partners are involved in a major programme of regeneration. Over the next 20 years the Council expects around £160 million of Government funding, plus private sector partnership leverage of an additional £1 billion, to transform the area and support population growth of around 50,000 people. There are around 107,000 homes in the district. The Council's strategic housing service was inspected in February 2008 and judged to be a 'poor', no-star service with poor prospects for improvement. This triggered changes in management arrangements and the development of plans to implement the recommendations contained within the inspection report.
Notes to editors
The Audit Commission is an independent watchdog, driving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local public services to deliver better outcomes for everyone.
Our work across local government, health, housing, community safety and fire and rescue services means that we have a unique perspective. We promote value for money for taxpayers, auditing the £200 billion spent by 11,000 local public bodies.
As a force for improvement, we work in partnership to assess local public services and make practical recommendations for promoting a better quality of life for local people.
For further information, or for an embargoed copy of the full report, please contact:
Callum Collins, Senior Regional Communications Manager (Southern)
Tel: 0844 798 8844