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Housing trust’s sexuality quiz
WESTMINSTER’S biggest social-housing landlord has been criticised for asking tenants about their sexuality and religion for a confidential information database.
The Peabody Trust, which manages 6,000 homes and a number of estates in Westminster, said it needed the details “to provide a better service”.
The survey, which was sent out to homes last week, aimed too give the Trust a better picture of who lives in their properties.
But the personal nature off the queries has sparked anger among civil rights campaigners.
Peter Tatchell, chairman of Outrage!, the gay rights organisation, told the West End Extra: “I’m concerned that some residents may find the questions intrusive.
“They need to be reassured that this information will remain restricted and not generally accessible. I would be very concerned if this kind of information became the property of private companies.”
Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights charity Liberty, said: “People think that large databases are the new answer to every problem but quite often they create more problems than they solve.
“Every interference with somebody’s privacy has to be justified and necessary and proportionate.”
Housing campaigner Thomas Cooper, himself a gay man, said: “It is very private information. There are all sorts of issues such as if they are looking at their figures and seeing a single girl with a couple of kids or a single man both looking for a council flat – what chance would you stand? I can’t see the relevance of it at all.”
Ian Walker, who lives in the Peabody Estate in Dalgarno Gardens, Westbourne Grove, called the questionnaire “intrusive”.
He said: “Peabody’s view is that this information will enable them to provide a better service. Is this necessarily the case? Does a simple repair require the knowledge of the tenant’s sexuality or religious orientation? These intrusive questions, that also include telephone numbers, e-mail addresses et al are an example of the intrusiveness of today’s world.
He added: “We must incur expense in contacting the Trust as regards repairs etc via a call centre, yet money is wasted on this survey.”
A contractor will store tenants’ confidential detail in High Wycombe, Bucks.
A spokeswoman for the Trust said the questionnaire was part of a number of questionnaires sent to residents. |
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