Mendip's strategic housing service is 'poor', watchdog says

The strategic housing service provided by Mendip District Council is ‘poor’ with ‘uncertain prospects for improvement’, according to an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.

On a scale of zero to three stars, the Audit Commission inspection team gave the service a ‘poor’, zero star rating. This is because the Council is failing to meet its own targets for the delivery of new affordable housing and has poor information on local housing conditions and housing needs.

There are, though, some stronger elements of the service, including positive outcomes in the delivery of rural housing and in homelessness prevention, and effective partnership working.

Kieran Colgan, the Audit Commission’s Lead Housing Inspector for the South West, said: ‘Mendip, like many smaller councils, is struggling to deliver the high-quality service that local people deserve, and currently lacks a number of key “building blocks” to drive improvement. However, senior councillors and senior managers have shown us a clear and visible commitment to making improvements and supporting the service. This gives us greater confidence that the Council will deliver on its promises.’

The inspectors found a number of weaknesses in the service:

* There is limited information available for customers and underdeveloped consultation and customer feedback arrangements.
* The approach to diversity is weak. For example, the service has limited understanding of some sections of the community.
* The Council currently has poor information on local housing conditions and a poor understanding of housing needs. This leads to significant weaknesses in the Council's framework of strategic housing plans.
* The service is failing to meet its own targets for the delivery of new affordable housing.
* Performance in areas such as private sector housing, bringing empty homes back into use and improving energy efficiency do not match the best performing councils.
* The service has a poor understanding of its costs and a weak approach to managing value for money.

The inspectors did, however, identify some strengths:

* It is easy for customers to access services in person through the Council’s five offices across the district.
* There are positive outcomes in the delivery of rural housing and in homelessness prevention.
* The service has effective relationships that help support its work - for example with local housing associations and the Home Improvement Agency.

To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations. These include

* Strengthen the focus on access and customer care – by improving the quality of written information, for example.
* Renew the framework of strategic housing plans.
* Improve the approach to securing value for money - for example, by routinely reviewing service cost alongside service performance and setting value for money targets.
* Strengthen performance management arrangements and capacity in the service - for example, by making greater use of the opportunities to share expertise and resources with other local councils and agencies.

Copies of the report are available from Mendip District Council or from the Audit Commission website at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/reports.