ONE of Thurrock Council's senior directors has gone public with praise for members of her directorate after their success in improving the authority's homeless situation.

As reported at the weekend on Thurrock Nub News, the council has reported a significant improvement in statistics delivered by its Housing Solutions service, which had been roundly criticised in 2025.

That criticism prompted a reset, rethink and refocussing on priorities and the outcome was revealed in a statement from the council last week that said: "The focus was simple: prevent homelessness wherever possible, reduce reliance on temporary accommodation, and support residents more effectively and earlier.

"Twelve months on, that effort is delivering tangible results."

Executive Director of Place, Property and Development Clair Demmel lays the positive outcome entirely at the door of the Housing Solutions team, saying: "A really proud moment for the Thurrock Housing Solutions team and an important milestone for the organisation as we continue our improvement journey.

"A year ago, temporary accommodation stood at 723 households and live caseloads were at 1,605. Today, those figures are 579 and 1,004 respectively.

"Last week, the service achieved zero new temporary accommodation placements, while helping 10 households move on to settled accommodation.

"These numbers represent a huge amount of hard work — and, more importantly, better outcomes for residents.

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"Thank you to every member of the Housing Solutions team for your resilience, professionalism and determination to do things differently.

"Turning the service around hasn't been easy. It has required people to challenge how we work, focus relentlessly on prevention and, most importantly, never lose sight of the people we are here to support.

"I'm incredibly proud of what they have achieved.

"The progress is theirs. The credit is theirs. And the journey continues."