A COUNCIL support service that helps people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness has been lavished with praise in a recent report. 

A Care Inspectorate account of East Ayrshire Council's (EAC) Vibrant Communities housing support service stated that staff were "kind, caring and responsive" to people's needs.

The team works between two office bases, one in Cumnock and the other in Kilmarnock.

READ MORE: Agreement to extend and expand council ASN holiday support programme

At the time of inspection, which took place on October 8, 9 and 11, the service was providing support to 121 people.

Inspectors use a six-point scale to grade the performance of the service in certain categories. One is rated as unsatisfactory and six is excellent.

Of the four categories graded following the visit, the service scored two 'Five- Very Good' grades and two 'Four- Good' grades.

Key messages from the report stated that staff had positive relationships with people they were supporting, where they were able to promote and encourage independence in their lives.

READ MORE: Long-term future of rural East Ayrshire school questioned following report

A couple of small areas from improvement were included in the mainly-positive report, which said: "The service would benefit from more appropriate cover when the manager is absent."

Speaking about the strength of the staff, the report said: "Staff supported people to make their own appointments. This encouraged independence and promoted life skills.

"If people required assistance to attend appointments, staff supported them with this.

"We shadowed some team members and were able to see that they had good knowledge and understanding of the service user group they supported.

"We saw positive working relationships between staff and service users and we were confident in staff's capabilities."

READ MORE: Council pull the plug on 'unsustainable' subsidised school transport

Leadership at the service was also highlighted as a major strength in the report.

It added: "Where complaints were received, these were addressed appropriately and timeously in a consistent manner.

"Throughout the inspection, we received very positive feedback from staff about the manager and heard about how approachable and supportive they were."