Sutton Council has joined forces with four other councils and the Local Government Association to seek a Judicial Review of a Government decision to defer funding for their Decent Homes programmes for 2009/10 and 2010/11 together with not guaranteeing money in the following years.
The borough was set to receive £112m under the Decent Homes programme, dependent on Sutton Housing Partnership, the borough’s Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), receiving at least a two-star rating in an Audit Commission inspection, to pay for the replacement of antiquated box bathrooms on the St Helier estate, increased energy efficiency with the installation of new double glazed windows, and insulation and upgrading tower blocks such as Chaucer House.
The other councils joining the call for a Judicial Review are the London Boroughs of Havering and Redbridge and Sedgemoor District Council in Somerset.
Cllr Colin Stears, Executive Member for Housing on Sutton Council, said:
“This decision was a disaster for social housing tenants in Sutton who should be receiving £112m of government funding to bring their homes up to decent standards. It is a betrayal on the part of the government who promised us and other boroughs this money on the basis that we meet targets in an inspection this autumn.”
Chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, Cllr Gary Porter said:
“The decision to seek a Judicial Review over the decision to withhold funding has not been taken lightly but there are serious concerns that jobs will be lost in the fragile building sector and thousands of people will be left in below par housing.
“The decision to withdraw the funding that was allocated to these ALMOs will have a serious impact on tens of thousands of tenants who are some of the poorest in our communities, living in housing that is most in need of repair.
“Poor housing conditions seriously impact on people’s health, education, life chances and on social cohesion. Government has rightly attached much importance to delivering decent homes in recent years.
“The decent homes programmes would have created significant numbers of jobs in some of the most deprived areas of the country. The news that long awaited funding to tackle poor living conditions will now be delayed will mean that tenants will wait years for much needed home improvement work that could make a real difference to their lives.
“In the current economic climate, difficult decisions about funding priorities will need to be made. However, withdrawing funding at short notice and with almost immediate effect significantly damages ALMOs’ and councils’ ability to plan and deliver vital services that their tenants deserve and had been promised.
“A number of ALMOs on course to achieve the required standard that had been promised funding this financial year have already drawn up programmes of work and tenants. The announcement therefore amounts to real and immediate cuts to services for tenants.”
Posted on Tuesday 20th October 2009