To changes a bulb ... first spend £10,000 on DVDS

TAXPAYERS will foot a £10,000 bill for DVDS to show council tenants how to unblock their sinks, change light bulbs and bleed radiators.

The initiative was designed to cut the cost of repairs to council houses by encouraging tenants to carry out basic jobs themselves.

Stoke-on-trent city council will provide the DVD for its 19,000 tenants in an attempt to save £2million a year.

The policy, which will be debated next week, coincides with a 7 per cent rent increase, despite the authority no longer being expected to replace broken security lights or install new fences.

Dave Conway, a councillor, said residents were concerned about the changes.

He said: “It seems the council wants to put its rents up by the maximum amount, but do the minimum work.”

The council’s housing stock is maintained by Kier Stoke, which charges the authority from the moment a contractor sets out to do a job.

Other changes include removing the £40-per-room DIY decorating allowance vouchers for new tenants and making residents pay for deliberate damage. In two years between 2009 and 2011 the authority spent £787,280 on vouchers.

A major programme of work carried out after a review by the consultants Vanguard led to a £4.5million overspend on repairs in 2011-12.

One council tenant, Annette Bellyou, 46, from Burslem, said the DVD was a good idea, adding: “It has got to be done in the right manner to make sure it isn’t patronising, but health and safety means they have to be careful.”