Senior Town Hall politicians 'neglecting their duties' on homes repair programme

11.03.08am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 10th Jul 2006

Cllr Bob McCann, Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet member for Safer Neighbourhoods

Liberal Democrats on Sheffield City Council are calling for the Labour controlled Sheffield City Council to improve the delivery of the Decent Homes Programme, which is currently refurbishing every council property up to a decent standard.

There has been numerous complaints from tenants who have been frustrated by the actions of the 'Sheffield Homes' ALMO group managing the programme and its contractors. Despite reporting wide-ranging problems with work undertaken in their home many tenants have received a poor response to complaints.

Lib Dems are criticising the Council for not getting tough with Sheffield Homes and demanding a better level of service for tenants. They believe that senior politicians in the Town Hall are neglecting their duties and, instead of being on the side of tenants, they are on the side of bureaucrats within Sheffield Homes and the Town Hall.

Lib Dems believe that the lack of support from the Council has lead to many tenants feeling isolated when dealing with Sheffield Homes. Lib Dems also believe that senior politicians responsible for housing have allowed Sheffield Homes to give a poor service when resolving complaints.

Councillor Bob McCann, Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet member for Safer Neighbourhoods, said: -

"We fully support the project to bring all council homes up to a decent standard but we believe the process could be managed better. Since the work on the decent homes project started we have seen operational mistakes and many complaints from tenants across Sheffield"

"With such a large project it shouldn't't be a surprise that there are some problems. However, many tenants are angered at the way in which their complaints have been dealt with and the lack of support they have received from the Council. The problem is that senior Labour politicians within the Town Hall are neglecting their duties and are unwilling to get tough with Sheffield Homes"

"I call on Labour to get tough with Sheffield Homes and bring about an improvement in the way the project is delivered and complaints are dealt with. Tenants are Sheffield City Council tenants, not Sheffield Homes tenants. Council leaders have a responsibility to look after tenants best interests so they should start supporting tenants rather than poor performing bureaucrats"