Government alarmed by report saying half of Southwark council homes not up to scratch for fire safety
By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter
The UK government has said it is ‘concerned’ after an inspection found over 50 per cent of council properties in Southwark were without smoke alarms.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said England’s social housing watchdog would be ‘working with Southwark council’ to address failings identified in a judgement of the local authority published in November.
Labour leader of Southwark, Cllr Kieron Williams, apologised to tenants after the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) gave the authority a rating of C3 (the second worst grade) for consumer standards last month.
At the time of the inspection, the RSH said over 50 per cent of the council’s homes had not had an electrical condition test for over five years. The government watchdog added that it has identified almost 2,000 overdue fire safety issues in properties, of which 100 were categorised as high risk.
On Wednesday last week, Southwark’s Liberal Democrat opposition called on deputy prime minister Angela Rayner to intervene in the Labour-run council over the management and condition of council homes in the borough.
In a letter to Ms Rayner, who is secretary of state for housing and local government, councillor Victor Chamberlain, leader of Southwark Liberal Democrats, wrote: “When the LGA [Local Government Association] found serious concerns about governance in Tower Hamlets, your government rightly sent in ministerial envoys to oversee improvements.
“This situation calls for similar intervention, and we therefore call on you to appoint ministerial envoys to provide the leadership and oversight to deliver safe and secure homes our residents need and deserve.”
Southwark council—which owns around 36,800 homes—referred itself to the RSH in June after finding it hadn’t completed electrical safety tests on all of its properties. The inspection was the first time that the local authority had been judged under the watchdog’s new standards programme which came into place on April 1.
The council said it has since developed a programme to complete overdue electrical safety checks and install smoke alarms in homes, which is expected to be completed by March 2026.
Cllr Williams added that Southwark was investing over £250 million into its housing stock over the next three years and was improving its approach to repairs, complaints and housing allocation through a new housing management board, which will include tenants.
He added: “We’ll also be continuing our work with the government and councils across the country to tackle the £2.2 billion black hole in our national council housing finances, so together we can secure the long-term funding settlement needed to fully lift council homes across the country up to modern safe, healthy and green standards.”
Cllr Chamberlain said: “The new Labour Government has made bold promises on housing. Now they must prove they mean business by stepping in when Labour-run councils fall short. Southwark residents deserve better, and we’ll keep fighting to ensure they get the quality housing they need.”
An MHCLG spokesman said: “These findings are concerning, and the regulator will be working with Southwark council to address the issues raised. We are clear everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home.”
Pictured top: Cllr Victor Chamberlain, leader of Southwark’s Liberal Democrat opposition, has asked deputy prime minister Angela Rayner to intervene (Picture: Southwark Lib Dems)