MAYOR LUTFUR RAHMAN began the Cabinet meeting last week – taking place during the first week of Ramadan – by extending Ramadan greetings to everyone in the Town Hall and the community.

He explained how important Ramadan is to Muslims, who “spend this month in prayer, getting together with family, and charitable deeds. He hoped that “this Ramadan inspires us all to do good deeds and reminds us of our responsibility to our community.”

Then it was on to the agenda, which focussed on the Mayor’s plans for improving the social housing we have and adding to the stock. The Mayor put it in context, telling the meeting how important housing was to his Administration. This is what he had to say.

Mayor Lutfur Rahman

“Today our cabinet agenda deals with a crucial step in improving housing in our borough. We are investing £609 million in capital improvements to our housing stock over the next ten years.

A decent, warm and safe home used to be a luxury – something unattainable to the poorest communities across London.

During my previous term, we invested £160 million into our housing stock and ensured that all of our council stock had a decent kitchen; front door; bathroom; windows; and roof.

And we succeeded in that mission. All of our stock was upgraded. It is one of my proudest achievements.

However, in the seven years I was out of office, historic underinvestment by the opposition in our existing housing stock and their failure to build new housing and tackle overcrowding left our residents suffering from poor quality housing, overcrowding, and the unaffordable private rental market.

As you know, we take up door-knocking as a year-round practice. We do not wait for elections to ask our neighbours how they are doing and what more we can do to help them. This is in addition to my twice weekly surgeries.

I am often invited into the homes of residents to witness overcrowding, mould, unsafe conditions, and many other issues I have spoken of in previous meetings. Our community deserves more than to suffer with no solutions.

This is why our Administration has once again put housing as our top priority.

 
Mayor Rahman onsite, as building starts at Blackwall Reach

In 2024, we self-referred to the housing regulator to bring in outside expertise to assess our stock and to support us in developing an evidence-driven approach to improving our housing.

We are cleaning up the mess left behind by the previous Administration, that saw stock crumbling and families living in substandard accommodation.

Our work in developing plans and allocating funds is now complete, and we are now moving into procurement, followed by the implementation phase.

Our investment is historic. Of the £609 million, £240million will be invested in decent homes – making sure every family living in a council-owned residence can benefit from modern kitchens, bathrooms, double glazed windows, and energy-efficient roofs. This alone will protect families from harsh winters and reduce their heating costs.

Another £200 million will go into building safety – ensuring that our residents are protected from fires and other risks.

A further £60 million will be invested in major repairs and enhancements. These are crucial investments, that will protect homes and ensure that the lessons from the Grenfell tragedy, that took place nine years ago during Ramadan, are implemented in our policies.

Last, we are putting new policies in place for contracting this work. We found that relying on a single contractor leaves us vulnerable to delays and locks us into long-term contracts.

Instead, we will be procuring eight providers, enabling the council to be flexible should issues arise. Half of the providers will be small and medium sized enterprises.

Importantly, contract recipients will be required to provide £96 million in social value investments, with a focus on apprenticeships, job training, and long-term employment for residents.”

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