WORCESTER’S housing waiting list is still a “significant” problem, according to a leading city politician who says he is determined to bring it down further.

Councillor Roger Berry, the cabinet member in charge of housing, was speaking after it was revealed that the council had halved the number of people on its housing waiting list. As your Worcester News reported last week, the city council wrote to all 4,500 people on the list asking them to re-register if they wished to remain on the list. Just 53 per cent replied, leaving the tally at 2,393.

The move was seen by some to question the city council’s emphasis on ploughing more money into providing more social housing in Worcester.

But Coun Berry said removing 47 per cent of names off the list would only help focus on those in most desperate need. He said the vast majority of the 2,100 people struck off the list were in the bottom two of eight possible categories, meaning 90 per cent of the people in the top six categories of priority remained on the list.

“The figure of 2,300 is still a significant number and my view is that we must do all we can to meet the needs of those people,” he said.

“The Tories will use any attempt to try and reduce housing expenditure – the number of people on the top priority bands have barely changed, so that’s where the money is going.”

Under the register, known as Home Choice Plus, people waiting for a home are divided into categories based on need after an assessment.

They start at Priority, then move to Gold Plus and Gold, before working down to bronze right at the bottom.

The Conservatives say they made social housing a priority before they lost control in May. Coun Simon Geraghty, Tory group leader, said: “What this adds is a bit of realism into the debate – yes, it’s important, but this puts it into perspective.

“It should also prompt a wider discussion on the relative focus we should give different priorities.

“I would welcome a regular look at the list because clearly, the reduction in numbers is a big difference.

“It also shows that after years of belly-aching from Labour that we weren’t doing enough, it really reveals that we were doing a hell of a lot.

“We were able to bring social housing through even when the economy was in the doldrums.” The council says it examines the top six bands on a yearly basis.