Surrey Council recently released a plan to radically remake its housing service. This decision follows a surprise inspection that uncovered multiple violations that posed grave risks to safety and fire code requirements. The city’s council has an ambitious goal of pursuing the most positive wellbeing outcomes for their residents. Most importantly, the revitalized housing service tackles the shortcomings observed during the inspection.
Councillor Jeremy Pursehouse, the lead member for housing, Councillor_SIGNATURE_3 said he was astonished at the extent of some of the adverse findings from the inspection. He accepted that there was no time to be lost in taking steps to rectify these issues. He opened by saying that there were some things that shocked him. At the very beginning he stressed the urgency of our situation.
To help make this transformation happen, the council has earmarked more than £400,000 from its housing budget. We would use this new funding to hire additional housing staff. Furthermore, we intend to replace the council’s IT systems to ensure a more efficient delivery of our services and improve the council’s overall operational efficiency. The increased workforce aims to improve response times and service delivery, while the IT upgrades will streamline processes and ensure better data management.
Alongside these direct measures, Surrey Council has agreed to commission a full housing stock condition survey by the Autumn. This detailed survey will help identify the most dire safety concerns in the existing housing stock. Lastly, it will chart a path for future enhancement. This survey will yield very important findings. Those discoveries will inform future efforts to improve safety standards on all properties owned by the council.
The council’s commitment to safety and standards in its housing service is clear. This commitment to equity and justice informs and shapes their vision for the overhaul. Surrey Council are already in the process of addressing the issues raised in the inspection. By investing in critical resources like housing, food, and transportation they hope to develop a safer, healthier community for all neighbors.
