ALTHOUGH the Review of Social Housing in Jersey, a document now in the public domain, is free of political rhetoric and dramatic language, there is no escaping its underlying conclusion – that there are profound problems with the way in which States-owned accommodation is administered.

The report, leaked to this newspaper, outlines serious charges. These include the assertion that the Housing department is, in respect of its dual role as regulator and operator of housing, ‘not fit for purpose’ and should therefore be broken up.

In addition, the report says that the department has spent far too little on maintenance for many years and that the noble political objective of framing policies to help Islanders own their own homes is profoundly unrealistic.

Each of the three charges is serious. Taken together, they amount to a damning critique of the Housing department and its leadership.

The Council of Ministers will no doubt spend time studying the report. As they do so, they can hardly fail to be disturbed by what is revealed. As well as raising major concerns about the structure of a key department, it clearly implies that funds must be found to address issues such as the backlog of maintenance work when public money is in short supply.

So far, the approach to funding problems at Housing appears to have been based on the gradual selling-off of parts of its vast portfolio of properties. But Islanders appear to be uneasy about this strategy, perhaps because it can be seen as a way of bailing out those responsible for the failure to invest in proper maintenance.

It also threatens to deplete the stock of social housing at a time when, because lenders are unwilling to advance mortgages to borrowers who do not have very substantial deposits, there is a high level of demand for this category of accommodation.

But one of the key questions about the report arises not from its content but from the way in which it has been handled. It was completed and passed to Housing at the end of June and was supposed to have been published in July.

That did not happen, which begs an important question – why have those concerned been sitting on such a major piece of work that raises such serious concerns not only for those who rent States properties, those still in need of social housing and those who aspire to put a first foot on the housing ladder, but also for the Island as a whole?