Southampton City Council has appointed Home Connections to provide an enhanced CBL service to housing applicants in the City. The City is in the top half of all local authorities* working to 2010 target to streamline access and choice in housing using Choice Based Lettings.

The decision was taken to appoint Home Connections on a value assessment approach where cost and benefits were weighed and Home Connections came top. This is the first time an early adopter of CBL has returned to market,  followed OJEU procurement rules and changed supplier.

The improved CBL system will make it easier for customers to search for local authority and RSL properties and provide enhanced feedback on bidding and bidding patterns. Applicants can look forward to a contemporary and more accessible website and one which works in all major browsers.

Ninesh Muthiah, CEO, Home Connections said: ‘This is a great step for Southampton City Council, this new enhanced service will enable customers to have a wealth of housing options at their fingertips. We’re looking forward to helping Southampton deliver efficiencies, refine processes and improve access.’

Home Connections is the social enterprise behind several groundbreaking services in social housing, including the Housing Employment Connections service (HECS) which is receiving nationwide interest following a successful pilot in London. HECS provides a joined up approach by linking tenants and home seekers to skills training, employment and choice based lettings. Home Connections suite of tools and technologies are a driver for change in public services, user engagement and local communities.

The new service is scheduled to launch in the autumn

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*(Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix or HSSA). The HSSA returns for 2007/8 showed that 47 per cent of local authorities had implemented CBL and a further 49 per cent had plans to do so.