Housing minister Margaret Burgess saw for herself how staff work round the clock to make sure tenants stay safe and warm this winter.

Ms Burgess visited Wheatley Group’s Customer Service Centre in Glasgow which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week over the festive period to deal with thousands of customer calls.

She then joined a repairs team from GHA, which is part of Wheatley Group, to visit tenant Elmerina Sim in Carntyne to carry out a winter home check.

Ms Burgess saw how the repairs team check the boiler, pipes and taps and bleed the radiators to make sure tenants’ homes are in good shape for the winter weather.

Wheatley’s Customer Service Centre is open round the clock every day of the year to support the Group’s customers.

Since Christmas Eve, staff have taken around 5000 calls. Over 2200 were repairs, 1000 were payments and the rest were a mixture of people applying for a home, welfare reform queries and other general enquiries.

Over the two-week holiday period last year, staff dealt with over 12,400 calls.

GHA - along with the other partners in Wheatley Group - runs an annual ‘WinterReady’ campaign offering free checks to help older tenants get their home geared up for freezing temperatures.

Housing minister Margaret Burgess said: “The work being undertaken by the Wheatley Group’s repair team is essential. Working round the clock, they provide an expert repair service for tenants across the city.

“Tenants need reassurance that if they experience faulty heating or lighting, they can rely on the repair team to fix the problem, particularly at this time of year.”

@WheatleyHousing