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Uttlesford District Council provides a ‘fair’ strategic housing service, and has ‘promising’ prospects for improvement, according to an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.
On a scale from zero to three stars, the Audit Commission inspection team gave the service a ‘fair’ one-star rating, with ‘promising’ prospects for improvement. An earlier inspection in January 2008 had rated it as ‘fair’ with ‘poor’ prospects for improvement. This time inspectors found that the Council had continued to deliver good quality new affordable homes, and improved its approach to homelessness, but needs to improve its approach to improving the condition and use of housing in the private sector. The Council has significantly improved its financial position, and has the capacity to improve services in the future.
Mark Elsworth, Audit Commission Lead Housing Inspector, said:
“Since our last inspection, the Council has significantly improved its financial position, as well as sustaining its delivery of new affordable homes and tackling homelessness. It is now a more stable organisation with clear leadership in place that should support it to deliver the improvements required, including the necessity to improve its approach to improvement planning and performance management.”
Strengths include:
- Services are easily accessible and generally well-advertised through written information and the accessible website.
- A sustained delivery of good quality new affordable homes that meet the needs of those in housing need, in both rural and urban areas.
- The provision of good quality housing options advice and assistance to customers, and a reduction in the number of people becoming homelessness.
Weaknesses include:
- Services are not sufficiently customer focused, and performance is not monitored or known in a number of customer facing areas including telephone contact and complaints.
- Limited action taken to improve the quality and condition of privately owned or rented housing.
- The service is not sufficiently monitoring or measuring that it is delivering value for money.
- Improvement planning and performance management are not yet sufficiently developed across the service.
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations, including:
- the routine monitoring and publishing of performance on how well service standards are being delivered and complaints are being handled;
- ensuring that a strategic approach is in place to improve private sector housing conditions, and that information is accessible on the options available on private sector assistance; and
- developing a comprehensive understanding of costs and comparing these and service outcomes with others, to assess the delivery of value for money.
Copies of the report are available from Uttlesford District Council or on the Audit Commission website at www.audit-commission.gov.uk.
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.
Further details about the role of the Audit Commission can be obtained from www.audit-commission.gov.uk.
For more information contact Eric Ludlow, Audit Commission Communications Manager for Central and Eastern England, on 0844 798 4183 or e-ludlow@audit-commission.gov.uk.