The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has written a scathing letter to Southwark Council following four separate findings of “severe maladministration from the Housing Ombudsman.
In May of this year, Southwark Council was ordered to pay £10,000 for two cases of maladministration, and ordered to pay a further £2,000 for another two cases in July.
In his letter, the Secretary of State said he was “appalled” by these cases and that Southwark’s responses “fell well below the standard [that] residents should expect”.
Last month, it was revealed that Michael Gove’s department had handed back £1.9bn to the Treasury, claiming they could not find projects to spend it on.
Leader of Liberal Democrat opposition in Southwark wrote to Michael Gove to demand Southwark be provided their share of the £1.9bn to help fund council home building and repairs.
Commenting, Southwark Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:
“Southwark Labour are failing to provide the safe, good quality housing that everyone in our borough deserves. Even the government has now felt the need to step in and publicly criticise their record.
The Conservative Government has recklessly cut local government funding, leaving vital housing services under resourced and vulnerable to the kind of mismanagement Labour has demonstrated here in Southwark. It is beyond appalling that Michael Gove himself handed back £1.9bn for much needed council homes while local authorities struggle to meet the needs of their residents.
While Labour and the Tories fight over where to lay blame for these failures, it’s the people in poor quality housing who continue to suffer.”
