WAVERLEY Liberal Democrats have blamed the crisis in council housing on the Conservative party majority using tax payers' money to prop up the council's pension fund.

A recent Best Value review, based on consultation with tenants, staff and contractors, shows that Waverley Borough Council (WBC) needs to invest £20 million into making urgent backlogged repairs to its 5,700 properties.

The leader of Waverley's minority Liberal Democrats, Chris Slyfield, said the problem was also a result of the Conservatives' dependence on a "windfall which never came".

Mr Slyfield said: "The Conservatives were counting on the sale of council housing to a housing association and they spent what they thought was a windfall before it had actually arrived."

The tenants, he continued, voted against the transfer of their properties to a housing association, leaving the Conservatives with a budget shortfall they had not expected.

He went on to claim that tax payers' money, which could be invested into public services such as repairs to housing, is being "ploughed into" the under-funded Surrey County Council pension fund.

"Waverley is a member of the SCC pensions fund which is currently underfunded by £380 million, and it seems like the tax payers are being left with the burden.

But Conservative leader of Waverley council David Harmer denied this money could instead be spent on housing repairs.

He claims that funding for the pension fund is generated from a separate account from that used for housing.

"Is Mr Slyfield proposing that we do not pay our officers a pension? I do not think this would be a wise or prudent suggestion," he added.

Mr Slyfield also criticised WBC's use of its reserves. "Waverley has reserves which represent 50 days of borough council expenditure, as compared to Surrey County Council's reserves which represent four to five days of its expenditure," he said.

He added that, as both figures were acceptable to the district auditor, it indicates a good case for the use of more reserves to maintain the quality of public services.

The officers' report of the summaries from the Best Value fundamental service review on housing will be presented at Waverley's overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday.

The report reveals that tenants are dissatisfied with several aspects of the council's service.

Research for the review was carried out last year and included workshops with the tenants' panel held in January, where priorities for improvements in relation to the review were discussed.

A lack of policy on asbestos and other known risks, dissatisfaction with the time taken before repair work is carried out, and the quality of the work were listed by tenants in the report.

David January, the director of housing at Waverley, said that many of the areas highlighted in the report were being resolved and that a policy on asbestos will be discussed by the community overview and scrutiny committee during its meeting on April 16.

"The issue of the £20 million repairs backlog is extremely sensitive," said Mr January.

"Officers must remain apolitical; it is difficult to give a comment," he added.

Next month Waverley tenants will face rent increases of up to 13.9 per cent.This comes on top of an increase in council tax of more than 11 per cent for band D properties - taking the yearly charge up, by just under £100, from £865.77 to £962.39.