Swindon Borough Council have defended themselves in response to a national newspapers highlighting council housing repairs failures at a number of councils including Swindon.
Reacting to the article in the Guardian Deputy Leader of the Labour Group Emma Bushell said “It is horrifying to read in black and white that over 1000 Swindon families have been waiting for more than a year for repairs to their homes. It is depressing to see Swindon Borough Council named in a national newspaper among the worst performing councils for housing repairs.”
Councillor Steve Heyes Cabinet Member for Health Inequalities and Housing said: “It is deeply disappointing that Cllr Bushell chooses to rubbish her own council based on what she’s read in a national newspaper.
“As the shadow member for housing, she could have spoken with officers first to ascertain the facts. It was no secret that Swindon, like most councils, had a back log of housing repairs due to the Covid lockdowns. This was a period when only the most essential housing repairs could be carried out and many repairs were reported two or three times which inflated the figures considerably.
“Cllr Bushell was present at the Resources and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23 November when a paper was presented on the housing repairs back log detailing the Council’s plan to clear it. The three-point plan included a data cleanse to remove duplicate cases, an increase in resources both through recruitment and some contract partners and improved communication to ensure tenants were available for appointments. Current repairs are done first time in around 90% of cases which is consistent with other councils.
“The Conservative Administration has consistently delivered a good standard of service to our tenants despite Swindon’s Labour Group leading a campaign which saddled our tenants with an additional debt of £145m. The proposals to transfer the Borough’s Housing Stock to a Housing association would have avoided this burden that the tenants must repay and has deprived the housing stock of £90 million in investment that would have otherwise been available.
“In addition, I am planning to take a recommendation to the Council’s Cabinet shortly to seek approval for approximately 100 more new build council properties.
So, to imply housing would be safer in Labour’s hands is just not true.”
