RESPONSE times to council home repairs are speeding up and complaints are falling, according to the latest assessment of Kier Stoke.

Repairs to Stoke-on-Trent City Council's housing stock have been carried out in an average 12 days this year, compared to 23 in 2008.

While there were 735 complaints and claims made against Kier Stoke in 2008/09, 279 have been made so far this year.

Customer satisfaction levels have reached 91 per cent, average emergency repair costs have dropped from £85 to £68 and apprentices are being recruited from within the city.

Kier Stoke is now making 500 visits a day to the 20,000 council homes and 500 public buildings under its care.

The figures are included in a report to the city council's improving communities overview and scrutiny committee, which praises the performance of Kier Stoke, the joint venture company formed between Kier Building Maintenance and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Councillor John Daniels, cabinet member for housing, environment and neighbourhood services, said: "Our partnership with Kier is still a work in progress, and we feel there is still much for both of us to do to achieve even higher standards than the ones highlighted in this report.

"It's pleasing to see that so much work is being done to improve both the service to residents and the quality of the work done, while also listening to their concerns about the partnership and working to address them."

The report says relations between Kier Stoke and council tenants have been improved by initiatives including a customer ride-out scheme, which allows residents to tag along with maintenance workers.

Kier staff have also been given customer service training and better communication with tenants has reduced complaints.

All Kier workers are now given industrial cleaning wipes and have access to an industrial cleaner after complaints about mess left after repair jobs.

Other successes include the recruitment of 11 apprentices from within the city, providing work experience for 14 to 16-year-olds through Stoke-on-Trent College and opening up recruitment pathways to allow more workers to be hired from within the area.

As a business partner, the city council stands to receive a 20 per cent share of all profits made by Kier Stoke at the end of the year, which will be reinvested into service improvements. That figure will be set next month.

A spokesman for Kier Stoke said: "Nearly two years into the contract, we are seeing the developments we have made; the significance of investments in training, causing reduced accident and incident rates, and the continuous improvement of our service delivery.

"By collecting and measuring feedback from our customers, we ensure any issues are resolved as quickly as possible, with October showing 100 per cent of complaints resolved within our 15-day target set for Kier by the council. By monitoring this feedback, we learn how our services can be further improved.

"The last two years have seen constant improvement for the joint venture."

But council tenants Mick and Michelle Emery are not impressed by Kier Stoke's recent performance.

They had problems with a leaky roof on their property at Beaconsfield Drive, Blurton, from the moment they moved in, more than two years ago.

Kier workmen came out to fix the problem in August.

But Mrs Emery, aged 37, said: "I think they are a waste of time. We have still got problems. According to Kier the roof has been fixed, but it is still leaking. I don't think they have improved."

Kier has previously stated that Mrs Emery's property "has seen considerable investment over the last year".