THURROCK Council is currently considering bids for a £6 million three year contract to source, let and manage temporary accommodation in the borough.

With a housing waiting list of more than 8,000 the problem of social housing has been a hot topic for debate in council circles - and as recently as Monday's (7 September) meeting of the council's regeneration scrutiny committee councillors were calling for more to be done.

Cllr Barry Johnson, cabinet member for housing, said: "We want everyone in the borough to experience good quality living conditions.

"We work closely with private landlords, developers, housing associations and temporary accommodation providers to make sure our tenants have access to good homes.

"The provision of temporary accommodation is not a new service and has been in place for many years.

"This is a new consolidated procurement process to appoint a number of accommodation providers to temporarily house eligible residents.

"The aim of this procurement is to be able to work with more providers and help ensure an improved service for our residents."

Following the publication of the contract tender, and moves to remove people from the council house waiting list by changing the grading structure that allows residents to bid for lettings, there had been speculation from sources within the council that the authority was cutting back on the numbers of staff it employs directly, fuelled by a move to rent out accommodation on the same floor in the civic offices to Essex Police.

However, Cllr Johnson adds the two things are not connected, saying: "It does not relate to space let out within the Civic Offices.