An extraordinary meeting of the Council Assembly will be held following the conclusion of the budget and council tax setting meeting on the same evening. It has been called following a requisition by five councillors, and will discuss only the judgement of the Regulator of Social Housing. It is expected to last for one hour.

Judgement of the Regulator of Social Housing

The meeting has been called to discuss a motion by Councillor Victor Chamberlain ¹ relating to a recent judgement made by the Regulator of Social Housing about Southwark Council.

A motion in the name of Councillor Chamberlain has been included in the report pack for the meeting. The motion calls on the council to note with regret the findings of the regulator's investigation, which found serious failings in the landlord delivering the outcomes of the consumer standards and significant improvement is needed. The motion lists a series of issues identified in the regulator's investigation, including that:

Half of its 36,000 council homes not having smoke alarms

The motion goes on to highlight issues including a high number of housing complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman, high profile failures with major works projects, and a finding from the Local Government Association that housing in Southwark is an area of significant concern.

It concludes by stating that:

residents have had enough of apologies, wasted public money and the lack of care and attention to detail, and demand accountability for long term systematic failure.

The motion resolves that the Council Assembly has no confidence in the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Finance, or the administration's handling of housing matters. It calls for an independent oversight board, chaired by an independent figure, to be convened to oversee the work of the council in relation to the regulator’s findings.