Consultation on changes to Hometrak policy

02 February 2009

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People who use the Hometrak system to bid for council housing in Woking are being asked to consider some changes to the policy that sits behind it. Housing Services at Woking Borough Council are carrying out a six-week consultation exercise from Monday 2 February 2009, to ensure that users are happy with the proposed changes.

Hometrak is an online choice based lettings system which gives people on the Housing Register an opportunity to bid for homes in which they are interested, as they become available. Once registered with Hometrak, people can view Woking's fortnightly property list, identify which homes meet their needs and put in a bid for them. When the bidding cycle closes, Hometrak Woking organises the bids in priority order and then makes an offer to the person with the highest level priority.

Speaking about the consultation, Cllr Richard Wilson, Woking Borough Council's Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: "When Hometrak was initially implemented in September 2006, it was agreed that a review would take place to ensure that the policy was working as expected. Some changes have now been proposed to the policy, including clarifying what `local connection' means and making the medical criteria easier to understand.

I would encourage everyone who uses the system to take part in the forthcoming consultation, so we can ensure that Hometrak users are happy with the changes."

From Monday 2 February 2009, people will be able to view the draft policy, and find out more about the consultation process on a special webpage, which can be accessed via the Council website.

Alternatively, those without internet access can view the policy in the Online Services area at the Civic Offices. Paper copies of the draft policy can be obtained by telephoning Housing Needs on 01483 743833. Anyone with comments should respond to the Housing Needs Team by Friday 13 March 2009. Comments should be sent by email to housingneeds@woking.gov.uk or posted to the Civic Offices.

For more information, please contact Catherine Butler, Housing Needs Manager, on 01483 743618 or email catherine.butler@woking.gov.uk