• Progress being made to deliver housing improvements
• Improvement board to feature independent members, and feedback from tenants
• £12m to be spent on building safety, as part of a £63m three year programme
Newham’s Cabinet has received an update on progress to deliver improvements following a social housing inspection report published in October.
After fully accepting the failings identified in the report, Cabinet heard the Council is focused on:
- Mitigating health and safety risks to tenants while checks and actions are completed
- Communicating what those risks are – to help and support tenants while changes are made
As part of its comprehensive improvement plan, the Council will also look at the root causes of the issues – identifying why assurance and monitoring processes didn’t highlight failings earlier.
Cabinet heard Council is also recruiting additional staff to make sure the improvement plan is delivered as quickly as possible.
As well as setting up an improvement board which will include independent Members, sitting alongside Cllr Blossom Young, Cabinet Member for Housing Landlord and Tenant Experience Improvement and senior members of Council staff, the Council will work with tenants through the Local Area Forums to develop more detailed plans.
The Council is already spending £12m on building safety projects this year as part of a three year £63m programme, as well as £2.5million on retrofit work and £64m on planned maintenance.
The Council’s current Business Plan includes significant investment in the Council’s existing homes, with £120m allocated over the next two years, and £25- 30m per year for each of the subsequent years – although outcomes of condition surveys and other regulatory requirements may require an increase in this amount.
