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David Miliband MP outside Camden Town library in Eversholt
Street
Alan Walter from Defend Council Housing |
Minister boosts home cash hopes
Admission that government has to respect
tenants’ vote and find way forward
A SENIOR government minister has said Whitehall should look
again at freeing up £283 million promised for the renovation
of council tenants’ homes.
MP David Miliband, the minister for communities and local government,
told the New Journal on Tuesday that the crucial 2003 vote on
whether tenants would allow their homes to be looked after by
an Arms’-Length Management Organisation (Almo) should be
respected.
Tenants voted overwhelming against the deal – prompting
the government to freeze cash earmarked for renovating Camden
homes.
The minister – who lives in Primrose Hill and attended
Haverstock School as a boy – was visiting Camden Town library
in Eversholt Street and a council-run job recruitment service.
He said: “There is a ballot system and we have to respect
the result of that ballot.
“It was a matter for local people and it is something we
need to look at again. We are talking to the council about the
way forward.”
He added that, since coming to power, the Labour government
had spent £350 million on Camden’s council housing
stock.
He said: “All tenants would say they want something done
– but funding has been more than doubled by central government.
That is a direct investment in improving homes.”
He maintained that the idea of bringing in housing associations
to manage social housing worked, and believed Camden tenants
should be receptive to changes in how their homes are run –
as long as the work is done to a high standard.
He continued: “People should understand that there is a
role for housing associations and this is something that should
be looked into.”
Tenants’ activist Alan Walter, who lives on the Peckwater
estate in Leighton Road and is chairman of the national pressure
group Defend Council Housing, said Mr Miliband’s comments
were indicative of a sea change of thought currently sweeping
through government ranks.
He said: “There has been a groundswell of opinion across
the political spectrum about the rejection of the three options
– Almos, stock transfer and private finance initiatives.
“Ministers are realising they have to recognise tenants’
rights to choose and they have to realise they can no longer
withhold money that is needed for council housing.” |
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