Ilford South Labour Party

Barbara White, Ilford South Labour Party Trade Union Liaison Officer, had star billing in the letters column of the Ilford Recorder the other week with an item stressing how this Tory Council mismanages our services and wastes money. Here is her letter:

“A few weeks ago we read that the result of the Audit Commission Inspection showed that Redbridge Homes received a one star rating which would result in delays for Redbridge Homes receiving funding from the Government’s Decent homes initiative.

I have now heard that Redbridge tenants will be over-charged for rent during the next couple of months because Redbridge Council has delayed passing on the benefits of an increased Government subsidy. Many councils have already passed the cut on to their tenants but people in Redbridge will have to wait until the end of August before they benefit. If this isn’t bad enough the council have blamed the delay on one of their infamous consultation exercises. It was held to find out whether or not tenants wanted a reduction in their rent. I have no idea how much the consultation cost but Turkeys Voting For Christmas springs to mind. So that you are not in any doubt I must tell you that the tenants voted in favour of a rent reduction. If the Government has made this gesture the benefits to tenants should be felt immediately.

In last week’s Ilford Recorder Mrs Janet Cornish wrote, quite rightly, about the lack of swimming facilities in Redbridge due to the sudden closure of the pool in Ilford.. She mentioned that the hundreds of thousands of pounds have been granted from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for free swimming. A bid was made in 2001 to the DCMS for a mixed leisure complex in Winston Way. In 2003 the Government offered £10.5 million Private Finance Initiative credits. The council spent an incrdible amount of money on the first stage of the procurement process. In 2005 there was an internal power struggle and leadership changes and the Conservative council changed its mind and decided to opt for an “Olympic Pool” on the Cricklefield site. As Mrs Cornish said we do not need an Olympic sized pool, just simple, local ones where families can enjoy swimming together.

The above are three examples of the Government giving something to Redbridge which have been mismanaged by the total incompetence of this Tory council.”

Redbridge Homes, the Council’s arms length housing management organisation, has again failed to achieve 2 stars in its Audit Commission Inspection. This means that £39 million of Government money, which has been awarded to Redbridge Council by the Government to make significant improvements to Redbridge Council tenants homes, will not be released.

Tenants will now have to await the results of another inspection before they will know if their homes will receive much needed improvements. This could take another 10 months to a year.

When the Tories took over Redbridge in 2002, Redbridge Housing had a 1 star rating, In 7 years the Tories have gone to 0 stars and now back to 1 star. Tenants have been badly let down.

Labour asks where is the Tories commitment to providing decent homes for our residents?