I WAS shocked to read the letter that secretary of state Michael Gove sent to Camden Council, (Town Hall leader clashes with Gove over fire safety in homes, August 24).
For those who have yet to read it, the letter highlights a notice that the Regulator of Social Housing has issued to Camden Council due to its failure to meet the Home Standard.
The Home Standard sets out expectations for providers of social housing and the regulator’s investigation has found Camden to be non-compliant due to fire safety failures across thousands of its social housing homes.
The number of failings identified by the regulator are deeply concerning. My heart goes out to the thousands of Camden residents who are impacted and who have to live with the worry of sub-standard fire protection on a daily basis.
Since my selection as the Conservative candidate for the GLA in Barnet and Camden, I have visited many social housing estates and blocks.
The warmth of the welcome that I have received from residents is in sharp contrast to the poor conditions that I have found many of them living in.
Aside from the absence of working fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, many people are living with persistent damp and mould in poorly-maintained and frequently vandalised buildings.
At the time of writing I have yet to see any response from Camden Council to Michael Gove’s letter. I hope there will be an open and honest acceptance of the failings identified and a clear plan of action to put things right.
However, I fear that the Labour-led council will simply try to pass the blame for its multiple failures back to central government.
This is simply not good enough. All councils have had to deal with reductions in funding. Very few have received a notice from the regulator highlighting systemic failures such as these. Camden controls a budget of over £850million.
It needs to stop being complacent, address these serious performance issues, and reprioritise its spending.
I echo Michael Gove’s sentiments that every single person in this country deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure.
Where our councils are failing to meet their obligations to their residents and honour the trust that we put in them they should be held to account.
JULIE REDMOND
Conservative GLA candidate Barnet & Camden
Read original article on: https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/the-council-has-failed-to-me…
