The Council’s performance in delivering housing adaptations has been a concern for several years. We recognise that the Council has made changes to the service since our report in 2018 and that there has been regular reporting to Members. However, with the exception of slight improvement in two types of adaptations for 2025-26 performance is continuing to decline. Bridgend residents are now waiting over two years on average for an adaptation. 

Despite recently increasing its capital budget, at the time of our fieldwork, the Council did not have a clear plan to address its performance. Weaknesses in strategic planning and resourcing, learning and evaluation, and lack of coordination between staff at the different stages of the process are impacting the effectiveness of the service. Based on the Council’s track record in this area and progress to date in delivering housing adaptations, we do not have confidence in the Council’s ability to quickly address this. Since our fieldwork, the Council is developing a plan to address our findings. 

We have summarised the main strengths and areas for improvement below: 

Strengths 

• The Council has a single point of contact for applicants. 

• The Council monitors performance for timeliness and overall cost. 

• The Council has quality assurance and sign-off controls. 

• The Council has improved its IT system. 

• The Council has introduced a contractor framework. 

Areas for improvement 

• The Council’s delivery time is worsening and is currently averaging over two years for an adaptation. 

• The Council does not understand the medium to long-term demand for adaptations. 

• The Council does not have up-to-date information online to help service users understand the process. 

• The Council does not engage with regional groups to understand how issues compare and learn from their experiences. 

• The Council has a limited understanding if it is delivering value for money.