Three councils each received two stars from the Audit Commission last week, and all were expected to improve still further.
Housing inspectors rated Bolton's repairs service as good, with excellent prospects for improvement.

Lead inspector Mike Maunder, former housing director for Liverpool council, said: "The council has a track record of service improvement, and has already made rapid progress with its improvement plan."

Bolton has 21,938 homes, mostly of traditional construction.

It has estimated that it needs £150m over seven years to tackle its repairs backlog.

Poole council's repairs and maintenance service was judged to have promising prospects for improvements.

The council has a £6.5m repairs and maintenance budget for its 4,860 homes this year, an increase of 46 per cent over 2001/02.

West Berkshire council, which transferred its stock to Sovereign Housing Association in 1989, has promising prospects for improvements in its remaining housing services, inspectors found.

No families have lived in bed and breakfast accommodation for the past nine months, and there is a relatively short waiting time for decisions on homelessness applications.

Source

Housing Today