Executive Director's update

November 2025

In what seems like the blink of the eye I’ve now worked for South Lanarkshire Council approaching 3 years (since December 2022) – how did that happen? And what a quick three years it has been.

During this time, I have managed to get to know you all and to witness what I always knew as a high performing council really prove their high performing status.

As we enter the final months of the year, the demands on Housing and Technical Resources continue to grow - from both a national and local context. Rising complexity in housing, homelessness and property, alongside workforce pressures and financial constraints present ongoing challenges. Yet, in the face of these realities, our teams remain committed to delivering high-quality services to those who rely on us most. It is this dedication that enables us to respond with such resilience and innovation.

This latest update comes to you at a time when we are entering the winter season and this time of year creates additional pressures across our Resource as we prepare for whatever the weather may bring. Most commonly we expect storms (any guesses for the next name?) which can significantly impact both our council homes and the public buildings we are responsible for. We have had many of these already during my relatively short time in South Lanarkshire and I have personally witnessed the commitment from staff across all services to ensure our customers are looked after to the highest standard.

As a Resource, we have had many achievements, too many to list here, but for example: -

Our Repairs and Maintenance Service who undertake maintenance works across the domestic and non-domestic property portfolio. This includes the out-of-hours repairs service and legislative compliance works such as electrical testing and gas safety checks. Within the last year, this service delivered: -

• 48,157 emergency repairs with an average time of 4.57 hours to complete
• 32,252 non-emergency repairs with an average time of 13.04 days to complete

Our Housing Services remain the fourth largest social landlord in Scotland and is responsible for providing a comprehensive housing management service, with over 26,000 homes. Within the last year, this service: -

• Successfully collected over £112m of rental income used to fund vital services for tenants and re-invest in the housing stock.
• Let 1,964 properties across South Lanarkshire to households waiting on a suitable home to meet their needs, with 62.5% of these let to Urgent Homeless applicants.
• Reduced the number of days to relet properties from 22.15 days to 19.31 days, helping to get those waiting on a home
• Through the affordable housing supply programme, delivered an additional 180 council homes across South Lanarkshire, and remain on track to add over 1,000 homes by 2027.

Our Homelessness and Housing Support Service continue to provide a first-class service against ever prevailing socio-economic conditions. We supported a total of approximately 2,500 homeless applicants throughout the year to prevent homelessness where possible, even against the current operating context which continues to be extremely challenging.

Our refugee re-settlement programme and asylum dispersal team continues to manage and support families who arrive in South Lanarkshire. To date we have welcomed over 100 households and have provided a trauma informed, person-centred approach which provides support based on individual needs.

These achievements reflect the high standards and quality of work that define our services.

Significant work is also being undertaken to prepare for the introduction of our new integrated housing and property management system – HOME - in early 2026. As we near implementation, final system configuration, data migration, and testing is taking place every day. Updates will continue to be provided across teams as this important work progresses, and the new system is launched.

Looking ahead, it’s going to be a busy 2026/27, but I’m looking forward to our Resource continuing to deliver excellent services and meet whatever challenges come our way.

I hope you have a great winter with some well-deserved, quality time off during the festive period and thank you all for your continued commitment and support.

Thanks, Stephen

Executive Director of Housing and Technical Resources
Phone 01698 454406
Email Stephen.Gibson@southlanarkshire.gov.uk