The council acknowledged that the tenants had been raising the concerns “for some time”. That’s about half a century.
Which is an understatement to say the very least.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman found that although West Dunbartonshire Council had carried out work and surveys on the family home in question, damp problems remained.
The watchdog said the primary cause of the issues still had not been identified. This was despite them doing a public relations “good news” photo call with the Labour Housing Committee convener Dumbarton Cllr Gurdeep Singh Johal and his deputy Cllr Hazel Sorrell from the Vale.
The council accepted that further work was needed and that the time taken for them to do something about the problem had been “excessive”. That chimes perfectly with Parkiinson’s Law which is that work expands to meet the time allocfated to it.
The ombudsman found that the council could not prove it considered the impact of damp and mould on the tenant’s living conditions. It said it was “not clear” that the property was treated as a priority.
This underscores the council’s tendency towards precarication and verisimilitude.
The tenant’s complaint was upheld, and the council was asked to develop an action plan and a timeline setting out clearly the steps that it intends to take to address the mould and damp.
Which if it reflects their horrendous record in these matters won’t be soon.
A West Dunbartonshire Council spokesperson said: “We are sorry this tenant’s complaint was not progressed with the urgency required.
“We have taken action to address the recommendations raised by the SPSO and an action plan of repairs has been shared with the tenant.
The council said it is also prioritising reports of mould or damp within 72 hours.
- Here’s how The Democrat treated their announcement which they naively thought would be praised in October last year. Read it and weep:
Published 18 October 2024
By Bill Heaney
For a failing council, West Dunbartonshire has surprisingly been picking up one local government award after another.
From a project which they have been recognised for sorting out the much maligned [by the public] brown bin project – they haven’t, of course – to what today they are describing “a project to proactively tackle damp and mould in Council properties” they have been shortlisted for yet another “prestigious” award.
The nomination in the excellence in health and wellbeing category at the Chartered Institute of Housing (Scotland) Scottish Housing Awards comes as West Dunbartonshire Council marks the 1000th install of environmental sensors in its properties.
The Labour councillors in charge of housing – they resigned from the administration recently – Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal, convener, and Hazel Sorrell, left with Housing Director Peter Barry (centre).
The roll-out began at the start of the year with West Dunbartonshire Council’s Housing service recently meeting the milestone figure.
The only problem is that these sensors can detect damp, but they can’t cure it.
The technology on the sensors works by tracking data on air quality, humidity and other environmental factors, with the Council able to use the insight to plan any required works.
But if they have bought 2,000 sensors the must have considered there was a potential for 2,000 tenants to complain and a potential 2,000 jobs which would have to be done – at a cost, of course.
It is claimed they identify problems with condensation, allowing the Council to advise tenants at an early stage on how to manage this and avoid the potential for mould to develop.
For more than half a century the council and its predecessos have been advising tenants to keep their windows open and allow air to circulate through their property, but the problem has never disappeared.
It means work can be undertaken at the earliest possible stage, and allows the Council to proactively plan for energy efficiency improvements while tackling issues including damp, mould and fuel poverty across the area.
It makes you wonder who makes this stuff up, does it not?
Sensors, the council press release informs us, can be retro-fitted to homes with minimal disruption to tenants, and operate from a sim card so do not rely upon tenants’ internet connection.
And the sensors allow tenants to track the data about their own home through an app, with additional support and guidance from the Council.
It may be able to tackle the problem, but it dosn’t fix it.
This must be of huge assistance, not, to tenants, a large majority of them elderly and IT illiterate and who will be living colder homes this winter after having their heating allowance withdrawn by the recently elected Labour government.
The Scottish SNP Government have said they intend to do nothing to help out these vulnerable old folk, so it it’s more than likely they will be living in damp homes for the rest of their lives.
Out of the 1,000 tenants who have had these sensors installed in their homes, the council have found one tenant prepared to speak up for them.
“The devices have already been showing their value as, due to the information provided from one tenant’s environmental sensor, a costly repair was avoided,” says the spin in the council press release.
It adds: “The property was flagged to the Council because the environmental sensor was continually recording a high level of humidity but, besides a little condensation on windows, the tenant had nothing to report. There was no sign of mould or damp inside the home.
“The building services officer was asked to attend and identified a broken down-pipe which meant an external wall was wet. This was driving up the humidity in the home and would have eventually presented as damp and mould.
“Due to the early intervention, it was caught before there was any major and expensive damage to the property and the air quality improved for the tenant.”
Convener of Housing and Communities, Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal, said: “This is a landmark moment for the Council. Having fitted 1000 environmental sensors within our homes and to be nominated for a Scottish Housing Award at the same time for this innovative project is fantastic news.
“These devices are a vital part of ensuring our housing stock remains at a high standard for tenants and avoids costly repairs further down the line.
“It also empowers tenants to take responsibility for air quality in their homes, giving them real-time information to act upon and we are reinforcing this messaging through regular correspondence with our tenants, stressing the difference the likes of opening windows can make to the air quality in homes.”
Council housing departments have, for the past 50 years or more, been advising tenants with damp in their homes that the cause of this problem is condensation and that they should make sure they keep their windows open.
The downside of that, of course, is that houses with the windows open are nearly always colder and that tenants are plagued with draughts.
Vice Convener of Housing and Communities, Councillor Hazel Sorrell, said: “I am delighted that this important project has been recognised with a nomination at the Scottish Housing Awards. Congratulations to the team who have worked so hard on this for the benefit of our tenants and the Council as landlord.”
Just think of the blood, sweat and tears involved in coming up with this brilliant idea. Not.
Anyway, anyone who has a sensor fitted and wants to find out more about the information gathered, including being signed up to the app so they can access the data connected to their own home, can contact the council team on enviro-sensors@west-dunbarton.gov.uk or speak to their Housing Officer.
The Scottish Housing Awards takes place in November with the Council also nominated in the partnership working category for its Connected Response Heat Sage smart heating controls for storage heating.
Top of page picture: The councillors who have run dreary, dirty, damp, declining West Dunbartonshire into terminal decline. Picture by Bill Heaney
- Now perhaps the Scottish Government will take this lame duck council into special measures and get someone in who know what they are doing to run West Dunbartonshire Council. Editor