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Council sets out improvement plan for ‘failing’ temporary accommodation provision
Slough Borough Council has set out an improvement plan across its housing services after a report described its management of temporary accommodation as “failing”.
A report that went before the cabinet last week set out a number of proposals to urgently reduce risk across its housing services in management, repairs and the provision of temporary accommodation.
The council referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing in February after identifying some problems which could potentially breach statutory or regulatory requirements.
However, the council said it was “reassured to hear no regulatory action was necessary”.
According to the report: “The management of the council’s circa 700 private temporary-accommodation units is presently failing. This includes a lack of compliance and management checks to ensure landlord documentation is up to date.”
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It states that this is down, in part, to poor deployment of resources and property management, alongside a lack of contact with both the agents or landlord, and residents living in the units.
The council described this as “a legacy challenge that needs to be fully resolved over time”. It has created a special project officer role to help review and improve this service.
Its spending in this area is currently more than £1m over budget.
On damp and mould, a recent assessment found 1,020 homes are affected, out of its 5,899 stock.
The report states: “The contractor continues to struggle to cope with demand and initially complete urgent visits to those risk-assessed referrals.
“Officers are now in the process of establishing a ‘task force’ approach. This includes the introduction of a dedicated gang to respond to damp and mould referrals and a quick-reaction element to this resource for serious-risk cases.”
The report also outlines plans to improve the council’s IT capacity as it relates to its housing register, and improve its homelessness service to ensure decision-making is within statutory timelines.
Puja Bedi, Slough council’s lead member for transport, housing, highways, the environment and environmental services, said: “We know there are a lot of issues identified and residents may be concerned. However, our high-level improvement plan outlines our commitment to tackling these issues over the coming months.
“We have already made a good start in some areas and the options and process for reducing risk and improving the service offer will be kept under review. This will all take time, but it will be carried out with full transparency.”
The latest report comes after commissioners were sent to Slough at the request of Michael Gove, the housing secretary, in December 2021 to address serious financial and management failures.
In August last year, the council announced it was considering the future of its directly owned housing stock, after the commissioners laid bare the scale of the local authority’s financial woes.
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