C.Ladding

Don't know the young chaps problem. Complain via Sheff Homes complaint procedure, it's a bit annoying but they can only faff you around a bit, there are legal time limits to reply, and then go to the Local Government Ombudsman. It's not too bad and you can laugh at the joke replies sent to you that avoid your problem. The Local Government Ombudsman does not cost you a penny. Kier should have the same process so fire a few letters off there are legal time limits. You can ask Freedom of Information questions, they have to give you a reply and you can take that further at no cost. Ask Kier, Sheffield Homes and the council. Do it all and the Ombudsman can take up your case and the Council have to respond legally to the Ombudsman. People have rights and the more that know how to complain, just a few letters in the correct procedure and then they have to take notice. Don't get mad, get answers and a remedy

The survey does not seem to be asking anything new or innovative. What on earth has a gender change got to do with housing? The survey seems quite basic, what real nitty gritty is in the content of the questions? Maybe better more frequent and reliable bus services would assist the many in social housing re jobs. Just a thought. Where are any questions about making the land in front of flats into gardens. What about using communal land as a communal veg garden? Should council land be kept for the public of Sheffield or sold to private developers?(personally i believe keep it council. When council land is sold should the public be informed publicly? Should council executives be paid less and more properties be built? Should people who have been on the housing list for 5 years plus then count for priority housing? Should the housing points system be fairer to those who have waited a long time? Just a few thoughts as i could not find such questions on the surveys.

Sheffield homes is responsible for the repair of homes, they sub contract this work to kier sheffield llp. Sheffield city council has a 100% shareholder stake in sheffield homes. Sheffield city council has a 10% shareholder stake in kier sheffield llp. Therefore they are partners and i believe that some sheffield homes staff are based at kier hq. There still has been very little improvement in the apparent service. There has to be an improvement in this service. Is it the workers? The management? Not enough staff? Something seems to be lacking.

I think a lot of people do not believe these surveys do make a difference and a lot of people are so cross with the poor service they have received that they just see no point. If you can't get repairs done then why should you fill a survey in. A tenancy should not include job stuff it should be kept as a totally separate issue. Shouldn't there be stuff to help people on very low wages who do not get benefit but have £120 a week only total income. With the recession isn't that important. Why don't Sheffield Homes look at which 2 bedroom flats could be made into 3 bedroom flats to help reduce the housing shortage. Some flats have large rooms that could be made into 2 decent sized rooms. It seems that scheme to get people into smaller properties is very expensive for little result. There needs to be something set up for people losing their jobs to be able to keep their properties which kicks in sooner than the current rules. A lot of people use Howden House to pay things. There should be a counter left for this. The Council/Sheffield Homes seem to be reducing every aspect of people to people contact with the public/customers. This is possibly why there is very little interest in yet another survey.

As a society we are meant to care for our relatives. If a lady who is blind feels safer and more confident with her relatives then surely that is the best option for her future well being. People are criticised constantly for putting relatives into care. This family are trying to care for a relative and their family unit has altered. I thought the idea of social housing was to facilitate changing circumstances. Obviously this process cannot be undertaken overnight. Compassion to your family is essential.

It is good to hear that this time there is a level playing field for people to make their preferred choice. I hear that a lot of Almo's are in deficit. If other organisations such as a housing association or Council were elected to run housing does the debt go with this? Ps Narden Dee. Why don't you read what is written properly, you have no sense of humour and unfortunately the switchboards and computers keep crashing on a regular basis so it is of concern what will happen when an extensive survey is conducted and the servers are overloaded.

Is that the stuff about who should manage council housing in the future? It was not really a choice last time. The govt of the time twisted arms on the choice. If you went ALMO extra money could be accessed. If you stayed with the Council money could not be accessed. What loading has the Govt put on this time? I always thought the conduct last time was wrong. It should have been tenants and residents choosing who they preferred to manage the service to them. Council or a different organisation.

ps Sheffield Carers centre 0114 2728362. Very helpful people and they may be able to give a variety of support and assistance.

How can looking after your blind mother in law be intentional overcrowding? How can a blind lady with token social service support possibly feel as comfortable and safe as she does with her family. These people are saving a lot of money for the state by caring for their relative. How can it be better to be on your own when you are lucky enough to have a family that wants you, and wants you to live with them. I hope you realise there are carers allowances to help you.

I did not know in 2005 there was too much council housing. Were these findings not taken much earlier as in 2005 council property seemed quite full to me. If this was the case it was lucky people bought their properties even though unfortunately the council only got a quarter of the revenue. Thank goodness leaseholders and others helped the council reduce this surplus stock.

Will the questions be of relevence to people of Sheffield? Will they be nosey questions? Will they be stored safely? Will a flood of answers not crash the currently overloaded servers. The computer system is constantly crashing now let alone when a deluge of questionnaires are replied to.

I thought the idea of the national census was to do this. Lets hope Lockheed martin are not having any part of this survey. Who does analyse the statistics for this have your say survey?

Narden Dee. You really have a very nasty attitude. The independent assessor only looks at the manipulated statistics provided, not at actual properties and what has actually been delivered. There is a big difference. I do not know where your stupid comment about people drying their washing without ventilating the properties comes from. Many people cannot afford a tumble dryer, many choose not to have one to be environmentally friendlier. Many dry their washing over the radiators all the time and do not have mould. Many properties are so badly repaired or built they have huge amounts of ventilation, through ill fitted windows, ill fitted doors etc. Many more properties have mould due to cold bridging, cracks in concrete, missing roof tiles, windows leaking every time it rains. A fair amount of these problems are after decent homes work. Not at all decent for 2011. Nobody minds a project that will improve things but the cladding projects have little longevity and are not value for money. You seem to have a very nasty attitude about people who have chosen to buy a council property. Not all are right to buy purchases for starters. There has been severe under investment in some parts of the city. Somewhere always has to be last. The trouble is the same parts of the city seem to have been last for far too many years. Nobody likes to be ripped off and this cladding is an ill thought out project that will not deliver the recipients any form of value for money. Repairs and improvements should have been ongoing but have clearly not been. The service to us all has been far from three star over decades. You probably do not live in these properties. We all know there were other solutions, far more cost effective. You have such a bad attitude about those who have invested in a community and seem to think we have a bargain buying a council property. Many people would not choose to set foot here, let alone invest in the areas affected.For many people especially pensioners the chance to buy what they had rented, and considered home, to be their home took every penny they had, even with a discount. These people are not money bags. They spent wisely for them. Most of these people would qualify for full housing benefit if they rented so the state would be paying a lot of money for them every week. Their attempt to put a permanent roof over their head saves the council/government a lot of money. It saves the council a lot of work too in processing forms etc. Most of the pensioners have probably saved the council/govt a lot of money as they have lived for so long in their homes now, they have paid off the discount several times over in saved benefit money.

I never understood why the council which already had an infrastructure in place was not allowed to expand this. The govt of the time made it impossible for this to be done. We all got an additional layer of bureaucracy in our case Sheffield Homes. There are so many managers on large salaries and yet large parts of the city have appalling housing, repairs are disgraceful. The decent homes work has been appalling in many parts of the city. At least if it is all council controlled there is one body to be held to account. Currently Sheffield Homes and the council pass the buck and the tenants are sent round in circles. Hopefully the ability to do this would be reduced. Let's just deliver value for money to tenants for a change. A lot of precious money has been wasted. Large parts of the city are living in poor quality housing. Black mould is bad for the lungs. It is awful how many people in council properties have this problem. It is 2011 and a lot of people work and pay rent for this. This surely cannot be classed as a decent home.

I suppose that is true. I have not had a private landlord for a long time. The fact is council or private, people are told they have rights to a certain standard, and they then find this is not true. Either way it is not on..The uk could do with better housing standards. Our social housing does rank amongst the smallest in Europe, and probably the mouldiest.