Surrey Heath council鈥檚 in-house homelessness and housing advice service has received a 鈥榝air with promising prospects for improvement鈥� rating from the Audit Commission.
The commission鈥檚 housing inspectors awarded the service one star because of a 鈥渂alance between the strengths of some parts of the system and weaknesses in others鈥�.

Some of the council鈥檚 temporary accommodation was found to be of 鈥減oor quality鈥�, with the longest stays among district councils in the country.

The council鈥檚 advice leaflets were found to be poorly distributed and its housing strategy did not explain the borough鈥檚 housing needs or how Surrey Heath planned to address them.

However, the way staff dealt with homeless people and the use of a doctor to interview applicants with health needs was praised. Inspectors were also impressed by the content and design of advice leaflets and the council鈥檚 work with other agencies.

Inspectors recommended that the council act to improve the quality of some temporary accommodation, use their leaflets more effectively and liaise with other councils on its housing strategy.

Source

Housing Today