A wide-ranging plan to improve Falkirk Council's housing service is well on target.

Today's meeting of the Housing and Social Care Committee heard that 85 of the 99 targets set in the plan have been met and most of the rest are making good progress towards completion on time or being developed.

The Council was given two years to carry out the improvement plan following the 2007 inspection by Communities Scotland which covered a range of issues including homelessness, repairs, customer care and partnership working. Earlier this year the Scottish Housing Best Value Network carried out an inspection and of the Homelessness Service and the report is due out soon but initial feedback suggests that good progress has been made.

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Other housing service achievements include: reducing rent loss from empty houses to 0.9% compared with the target of 1.3%, more than halving the time taken to re-let houses and completing 96% of emergency repairs on time.

The aim is to continually improve the housing service and reach the top quarter of Scottish councils as set by Audit Scotland by 2010-11.

Convener of Housing and Social Care, Councillor Gerry Goldie said: "We are making excellent progress thanks to a lot of hard work by housing staff and with the co-operation of our tenants and partners and in some areas, I am pleased to say we have exceeded the targets set."

(GK/JM)