Waiting lists and bureaucracy

While the Assembly Government continues to wrestle with the Wales Office over housing and its many issues, it falls to a local government - Cardiff Council - to take a more common sense approach to housing issues in the capital city.

A single application process for waiting lists has been developed by the council, in partnership with eight housing associations. Just one form now needs to be filled out by anyone looking for housing in the city. This is then entered into a single database which is used by both the council and all housing associations involved. The new common waiting list is administered by the council on behalf of itself and the housing associations and currently has in excess of 6,000 applicants. In total the new waiting list, which covers social landlords, has over 22,000 properties.

Executive Member for Housing Councillor Judith Woodman said, "This has been a long process and has been developed in partnership with all local Housing Associations. It has created a service which makes sense to everyone and probably none more so than those applying for social housing. "I believe the new common waiting list brings common sense to a system so many of our citizens rely on."