Council tenants and leaseholders, along with other key stakeholders, will be consulted on the future of services for people living in council homes, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets announced today.
Tower Hamlets Council is set to launch a consultation on 24 October 2022 about how services for people living in council homes are managed, including the option to bring Tower Hamlets Homes (THH) back in-house.
Tower Hamlets Homes was created in 2008 as an ‘arms-length management organisation’ (ALMO), to ensure that the borough could qualify for the Government’s Decent Homes fund, which ended in 2017.
The current management agreement with THH ends in March 2024, which provides an opportunity to consider the best way to provide services for people living in council homes.
The Council wants to ensure that housing and council services are joined-up to make it easier for residents to get what they need. It’s important that residents have a strong voice into the Council and their views are heard directly to help improve standards.
Bringing services back in-house will also help the Council get the best value, and ensure it is closer to critical issues such as fire and building safety.
The Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, said:
“We are proud of the work undertaken by Tower Hamlets Homes over the past 14 years. THH delivered the Decent Homes programme, achieving the goal it was set up for.
“However, as benefits of this funding have come to an end, there is now no need for vital council services for people living in council homes to be delivered by an outside body.
“Most other councils across the country who also created an ALMO back then to gain additional funding have since brought these services back in-house, but Tower Hamlets is yet to do so.
“In becoming Mayor again, I pledged to consult residents on bringing Tower Hamlets Homes back in-house, as I believe that doing so will put housing at the forefront of the services run by the council and ensure that THH residents are getting the best service possible.
“This consultation is the chance for residents to have a say. I encourage everyone to take part and have their opinions heard.”
The consultation will run for eight weeks and close on 18 December 2022. It has been shaped by early conversations with tenants and leaseholders, THH and the Council’s Housing & Regeneration Scrutiny Sub-Committee to ensure the right information is provided and as many people as possible are reached.
Tenants and leaseholders will be sent a consultation pack in the post with a unique reference number to allow them to take part in a questionnaire. Tower Hamlets residents will also have a chance to share their views and can find out more online at www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/talkhousing, once the consultation is live.
Drop-in sessions across the borough, as well as two online webinars, will be held during the consultation period to supply more information and to answer any questions residents have. All details will be found on the online consultation page from 24 October 2022.
Posted on Monday 10th October 2022