Sheffield Council ‘wants kick up the backside’ says disabled elderly woman waiting for repairs

Val Wilson, who has lived in the council property for 49 years, urged the council to fix the floor in her bathroom which she said gave her black and blue bruises and broke her cupboard brackets when she fell.

In her speech during the latest full council meeting, Ms Wilson said: “I do think the council wants a kick up the backside to get something done so that it’s making it safer for me because after 49 years, I am not going anywhere. I’m staying in my bungalow, which I should be able to do.”

Councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the housing committee, apologised on behalf of the council and said he would ask officers to resolve the issue.

Later in the meeting Coun Terry Fox, leader of the council, spoke about the poor performance with the council’s customer service.

He said: “We failed. None of us can sit here happy that Val has had to come through a horrendous journey and put herself in front of 84 councillors. For Val to come into this environment and raise her issues, we have failed. I can’t come out with any pretty words that can say anything else.

“What we have to do is get that delivery plan for which I am working with officers so that we are able to challenge, to measure performance and hold to account through committees to make sure we are delivering. We have to get customer excellence right and we have to do it here and now.”

Repairs service

The council’s housing repairs service is struggling with a backlog of 6,085 overdue jobs.

The average waiting time for a council house repair was 21.5 days in May and June. The longest wait was 786 days for a new front door.

Despite this, the council is planning to cut the service by £5 million in the coming budget due to significant financial pressure.