Southend-on-Sea council has received the worst possible rating for repairs and maintenance from the Audit Commission.

In a report published on Thursday, the inspectors gave the service no stars out of three and rated it “poor” with “uncertain prospects for improvement”.

The report said resident satisfaction with repairs had not improved since the previous inspection in 2001, and residents were not involved in determining standards.

The inspectors also found the administration of the service did not provide value for money and that there were flaws in the recording and reporting of repairs.

Mark Elseworth, the Audit Commission’s lead housing inspector for the East of England, said: “The inspection team had some serious concerns about the council’s failure to develop a modern repairs service and to use the information that it has to improve the service.”

The inspectors recommended that the council develop a plan to increase planned repairs and reduce responsive work, which cost about £1.65m last year.

A spokesman for Southend said: “The council is determined to use the report as a basis for bringing about significant improvements, and is already working hard to implement some of these.”

Source

Housing Today