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DERBY CITY COUNCIL AND A
HOUSING AWARD! A JOKE? - NO, UNBELIEVABLY,
IT’S TRUE!
It was reported the other week that Derby City
Council are vying for a housing award which, if
won, could see them providing other city councils
across the country with advice on housing renewal
services. Derby City Council is one of 80
councils nationally which have been short-listed
in the fifth round of the Beacon Council Scheme,
and one of seven short-listed for housing renewal
services. Apparently, Beacon Status, which lasts
for 12 months, recognises excellence in various
fields of public service and enables holders to
pass on their expertise to other local
authorities.
Derby’s housing renewal sector, which
includes providing practical help in carrying out
repairs, as well as energy advice and the empty
property register, won a three-star rating in
2001. Mark Edwards, assistant director of housing
and advice services, said, “We know that we
already provide a good service but Beacon Status
would allow us to share good practice with other
local authorities.” The council will find
out in April if it has been awarded Beacon
Status. Anyone who knows what the real situation
as far as the council’s record of empty
housing and day-to-day repairs is concerned must
be either agog with surprise or rolling on the
floor with laughter.
The only people who won’t be laughing will
be people such as Frederick and Beatrice Hughes,
both aged 79, of Littleover. The couple both have
disabilities that have prevented them from using
a bath since 2000. Early in 2001 they were
offered a bathroom refurbishment by Derby Homes
and asked for a new walk-in shower rather than a
bath. This was their first request despite having
lived in the house for fifty years. Anyone with
experience of Derby City Council will know what
comes next, up until two weeks ago the Hughes
were still waiting for the shower they applied
for almost three years ago! Mrs Hughes, who has
arthritis in both knees and a crumbling spine,
said, “We have to wash in the sink and then
once a week we go to my daughter Maureen
Gibson’s house to have a shower.”
In July, according to Mrs Hughes, the couple were
told that the situation was going to be sorted
out at a meeting in September. Surprise,
surprise, it wasn’t! Since the publicity,
the council now see the situation as a priority.
As far as the council are concerned, a
‘priority’ means that the shower should
be fitted within five weeks! The whole situation
is lamentable. If this had been the elderly
parents of those responsible for the allocation
of repairs at the council, would they have had to
wait for three years for a shower? Draw your own
conclusions.
Anyone in the know will tell you that this
situation was more than common twenty five years
ago with council housing repairs in Derby, so
nothing appears to have changed in a quarter of a
century! A similar state of affairs with any
private company would have seen them out of
business a long time ago! How any organisation or
department could even consider themselves for a
national accolade takes the term ‘brass
neck’ to new heights. It is a good job for
Mark Edwards and his colleagues that Mr and Mrs
Hughes are not on the vetting panel for the
Beacon Award.
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