The Audit Commission’s report into the Council’s strategic
housing services was published on November 30, 2006 and was
welcomed by Suffolk Coastal as a useful springboard to ensure that
even more improvements are made to the services.
Although Suffolk Coastal has not had any housing of its own
since its stock was transferred nearly 15 years ago, the Council
still has some responsibilities including encouraging more
affordable house building and helping homeless people.
The report recognises many of the Council’s existing strengths
and its plans for improvements, highlights a few weaknesses, and
offers a helpful set of recommendations on how the Council can do
even better. The foundations are already well in place and our
services are improving.
The Audit Commission agrees that ‘strengths outweigh weaknesses
in the Council’s track record in delivering improvement’ and there
is praise for its work on adding to the number of new affordable
homes, its significant emphasis on preventing homelessness, and the
increase in the number of empty privately owned homes that have
been brought back into use.
Follow this link for a full copy of
the Audit Commission report (new window PDF
188KB).
Follow this link to see
the press
release issued by Suffolk Coastal.
Follow this link to see Suffolk
Coastal's Housing Service Improvement Plan (new
window PDF 53KB), taking into account the findings of the
Audit Commission report and agreed by Suffolk Coastal's Cabinet
in January 2007.
Follow this link for help with downloading and opening PDF
files.