Labour plan to slash Lambeth housing services

7.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 25th Jul 2006

The new Labour administration in Lambeth is planning savage cuts to the borough's housing service, which serves some 40,000 tenants and leaseholders.

They have announced plans to close down housing offices across the borough - although in their pre-May election manifesto they promised to increase the number of housing offices. At least 80 housing jobs would be lost.

"Only two months back into office and Labour have set about tearing up their manifesto commitments with gusto," said Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson Jeremy Clyne. "This is just the sort of thing that brings politics into disrepute."

The plan would see the closure of local offices in Clapham, North Lambeth (where both Vauxhall Walk and Minet Library would shut), Upper Norwood (Lunham Road) and West Stockwell (Union Grove).

Streatham would lose its office altogether while the whole of Brixton would be reduced to just one office.

Saturday opening of offices would end while weekly drop-in sessions enabling tenants and leaseholders to meet housing officers would also be ended. Both these services were introduced by the Liberal Democrat-led administration as part of the successful "reframing" restructuring of the Housing Service.

Before the election Labour's manifesto promised to "double the number of housing offices where housing areas are too big and remote". Now they want to make housing offices more remote than ever.

At that time, Labour said: "Many of Lambeth's most vulnerable residents often have difficulty in accessing services remotely or via the telephone." Cllr John Kazantzis, now their cabinet member for housing, who is behind the housing office closure plan, said then: "The Council should be working for the residents of Lambeth instead of cutting their services."

He said then it would be "unacceptable" if the council were to consider "taking away services and not replacing them." Now he is proposing to do just that.

Labour did not stop rubbishing and trying to derail the reframing project which delivered huge benefits to Lambeth tenants and leaseholders. Even the independent Audit Commission judged the changes to have been overall a success, singling out longer opening hours and better access to services, and noting that council tenants and leaseholders were more satisfied with the services they receive as a result of reframing.

"We will oppose these cuts. It is impossible to see how slashing services and preventing residents contacting the council can do anything other than damage the interests of tenants and leaseholders," said Cllr Clyne.

"Labour are setting about dismantling the reframing improvements, cutting services and putting nothing in their place."