Tenancy Management Focus Group

This is a newish group made up of tenants reps, officers and one or two councilors - the aim is to cover all aspects of Estates Management of the Councils homes ( except communal services like cleaning, grass-cutting etc which is covered by another group).

Photo: Old Stroud College building coming down to make way for houses - but not enough for the people who need them.

I went along to my first meeting yesterday - two and a half hours - which included looking at the whole process of how homes are allocated and included a talk about Choice Based Lettings Scheme - see my comment on this from a while back here - I am more reassured that the needs of vulnerable people will be considered as more staff time will hopefully be available for this group as less time is spent on queries...

And talking of queries I had one that I was able to raise after the meeting re a local resident who has been on the housing waiting list for a long while - he is not alone - indeed I get various queries (see previous blog re Whiteshill homeless and our housing timebomb here). I clearly can have no role in moving someone up on a list but I can at least check to see if they have all the points they are entitled to have...

However the reality is that many people are in dire situations but do not have enough points to be housed in the near future. Indeed under the current system where so few homes are available many single people are very unlikely to be housed at all - priority is given to others like those who are unintentionally homeless or who have children.

As I've noted before I am personally appalled by the lack of social housing available - the result of Council homes being sold and not replaced along with a failure to build more homes to cope with the increased need - both Tories and Labour must share the blame. It is an issue many of us have raised over many years but to be honest there is not a lot more the current local administration can do, as hands are tied by central government regulations.

For many the best bet is to find a private rental flat - not at all easy - the Council has a leaflet with advice but it is more than a serious challenge as I know from members of my own family.

Future meetings will include a look at other aspects of Estates Management (incl TV relay), anti-social behaviour and transfer and exchanges. This is a place for tenants to raise concerns and issues.