Brighton & Hove dropped a category overall because its housing score fell from three to two, on a scale of one to four.
The council's head of performance, Maggie Squire, blamed the fall on a new performance indicator that measures the amount of time homeless families spend in B&Bs.
She said: "It doesn't show the housing service has deteriorated. It's very annoying that we lost a point on what we'd consider to be flawed indicator."
The commission said all performance indicators had been agreed after consultation.
The updated CPA scores, published yesterday, show the 150 largest unitary, metropolitan and London boroughs have steadily improved their housing services.
Brighton & Hove was the only authority to drop a point on housing: 16 gained one (see Councils, above right).
The overall figures were good, with 26 councils improving. More than half the authorities were classed as "good" or "excellent".
However, commission chair James Strachan admitted some councils, such as Hull and Birmingham, were "struggling". These councils have a greater load of inspections and are expected to work closely with the ODPM and the commission.
Those that moved up a category, such as Bolton and Tameside, will be inspected less.
Following last year's first CPA, the commission raised the bar for authorities hoping to move up a category. This year, they have to have three additional points to qualify. Eight councils, including Doncaster and Northamptonshire, have been held down a category because of this change.
Meanwhile, CPA results for district councils in five counties have been published. Torridge and North Norfolk scored the lowest mark for housing – D – but overall Sussex, Cumbria, Cheshire, Devon, Norfolk and Nottinghamshire district councils did well.
The commission will consult next year on changes to the CPA for 2005. It hopes to put more emphasis on value for money.
Source
Housing Today
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