Council’s repair jobs stack up

Slough: 1,500 backlog may take four months to clear

Repairs to council properties could take up to four months to complete after it was revealed there was a backlog of 1,500 jobs.

Councillors were given an update about Osborne – the council’s service partner for repairs and maintenance – at the Neighbourhoods and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel on Monday night.

The virtual meeting heard from Richard West, interim Director of Place and Development at Slough Borough Council, who said some Osborne staff had been furloughed during the pandemic and only essential works were being carried out.

He said: “Our current feeling is that this could take up to four months to sort the entire backlog.

“We need to put them [Osborne] under pressure to put more teams up and we need to support them where we can and perhaps even step in and provide alternative sub-contactors to try and get this backlog cleared.

“It really depends when we get into the nittygritty of what has to be done quickly and what can wait a bit longer.”

After the meeting, Osborne told the Express that the safety and wellbeing of its workforce and Slough residents had been its priority during the pandemic and that emergency activities had been carried out.

A spokesman added: “We are working very closely with Slough Borough Council to ensure repairs can safely be undertaken within new Government guidelines specifically designed for working within people’s homes.

“We are reintroducing non-essential works where possible and we will strive to complete the consequential backlog in a timely, efficient and safe manner.”

Earlier this month it was revealed Osborne would be making some of its workers redundant.

It introduced a series of measures during the pandemic to protect jobs, including furlough, cuts to pay and working hours and freezing non-critical business activity.

A spokesman said: “Osborne has not been immune to the impacts of COVID-19. The impacts of this virus will be longlasting and it is critical that the size of our organisation carefully reflects our forecasted levels of activity.”

It had restructured its operations and proposed to make around 75 redundant, seven per cent of its workforce, he said.