Council rejects Boris' decent homes claim

Councillors in Barking and Dagenham are today accusing London mayor Boris Johnson of taking credit for their work to improve local council homes.

The row erupted when Mr Johnson issued a statement on February 17, claiming he had secured “more than £800 million to improve thousands of council homes across the capital”.

Forty two million pound of this funding will go to Barking and Dagenham.

Labour councillors in Barking and Dagenham are demanding Mr Johnson  show them the money.

They claim that only £11.5m is secure while the remaining £30m is not committed and there is no guarantee that they will receive it,

Cabinet member for housing, Cllr. Phil Waker, said that the mayor’s inflated claims “probably have more to do with next year’s mayoral elections than anything else”.

A Greater London Authority (GLA) spokeswoman, said: “The funding has been secured for the first two years (2011-13), the allocations for 2013-15 are indicative.”

The GLA was not able to give details of Barking and Dagenham’s allocation in each year.

The spokeswoman said that the funding came through the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). 

“DCLG consults with the mayor and (he) gives recommendations as to who should be allocated what. 

“His recommendations are crucial to ministers’ decisions,” she said.

Mr Waker said: “We will hold (the mayor) to his promise on council housing investment."


This artilce was published on the Inside Housing website on Monday, February 23, 2011.
http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/housing-management/council-rejects-boris-decent-homes-claim/6513789.article