A REPORT on Blackburn with Darwen's housing department has been described as 'damning' by opposition Conservative leaders.

The mock inspection carried out at the end of last year by a private consulting company, HQN, was commissioned by the council itself to show where it needed to improve before the housing stock was transferred to Twin Valley Homes in April.

Coun Mohammed Khan, executive member for housing in Blackburn with Darwen, rejected the Conservative claims as 'unfair' and said a government inspection last year had shown his department to be 'above average.'

But Tory housing spokesman Coun John Williams, said the report 'blows the lid off' council claims to be performing well.

Coun Williams said: "The survey was damning in the extreme. It gave them a one star rating out of three for performance and a one dot rating for possible improvement."

Among the criticisms included are:

High repair charges

Poor rent collection

Slow turn-around for re-letting properties

Slow performance for repairs

Coun Williams said the lengthy periods of time it took to re-let properties meant the council lost income from rents on them and the houses degenerated while they were left empty.

He added: "I am not blaming the housing department. It's not that they are badly managed -- they are doing the best they can."

Coun Khan said: "There are a number of issues highlighted in this report and we have an action plan in place. Things are improving."

He also said he was pleased the survey, which cost £3,000, had been carried out. He said: "This was not compulsory. I thought we should have the inspection because, then, we would know where we are and where we can improve services. And in the last two to three months the action plan has started to work."

He said the latest figures showed rent collection to be 'above targets,' although he admitted "it was slipping when the consultants inspected it."

Coun Khan said: "I was pleased when the survey was done. They gave us a good bit of insight into what we are good at and what we are bad at. I accept that we had to take action and we have taken that action."

He said the council also faced additional difficulties with re-letting property with a 23 per cent turnover last year. He said: "42 per cent of properties have been let within eight weeks. But when you take some properties that have been empty for a long time it distorts the overall figures."