News

Inquiry call over Newham’s shameful housing record

A major row has broken out at Newham Council in the wake of a damning report that exposed shocking failings in the Borough’s housing services, reports Aidan White 

Shaban Mohammed
and Mayor Rokshana Fiaz holding signs reading 'Save council housing'
Shaban Mohammed and Mayor Rokshana Fiaz

Councillor Shaban Mohammed resigned as the Council Cabinet lead on housing on 19th October after a stormy internal Labour Party meeting following a government report published three days earlier that exposed Newham’s shocking failures as a social housing landlord. 

The report, from the national Regulator of Social Housing, found there were thousands of repairs waiting to be carried out, that fire safety works were overdue by more than 12 months and that thousands of homes were in a state of “high risk”. 

It highlighted inadequate data on which decisions could be made, stating: 

“In relation to a substantial majority of its homes, LB Newham lacks up to date information as to whether its homes meet the Decent Homes Standard. 

“Given the limited availability of up-to-date stock condition information and the lack of a systematic and effective approach to assessing and managing stock condition, we do not have assurance that LB Newham has a sufficient understanding of its homes to deliver the relevant outcomes in the Safety and Quality Standard.” 

The report condemned Newham’s “very serious failings.” The Borough is the first council in the country to be given the regulator’s lowest grading. 

Insiders tell Newham Voices that Shaban Mohammed feels he has been “badly let down” by some Council members and housing service leaders who he says kept him in the dark about the seriousness of the situation. 

But his resignation is seen as inevitable. “He did the right thing,” said one councillor, “but that doesn’t mean he’s directly responsible, that’s obviously not the case. He has been played by the officers and he’s been played by the council leadership.” 

The row raises fresh questions over the council’s competence and as one councillor put it, “the lack of focus on the delivery of council services” from the council leadership. 

There have been calls for a comprehensive and independent inquiry into what has gone wrong in housing. But a resolution from the Newham Independents was ruled out of order at the Council meeting on 21st October . 

At the same meeting, Green Party Councillor, Areeq Chowdhury called on Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz to resign, “because the buck stops with her”. He said the RSH report had effectively labelled Newham as “a dangerous slum landlord”. In the same speech he called for the Right to Buy scheme, introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in the 1980s, to be scrapped. He described it as “a single transfer of wealth to a single generation at the expense of future generations”. 

The Mayor and Councillor Mohammed have themselves taken part in a campaign for more government support and changes to the RtB scheme (see picture). 


Key findings of a critical judgement 

In a long list of tough conclusions, the regulators’ report notes that: 

  • There were more than 9,000 overdue fire safety actions, of which 8,000 are overdue by more than a year, and more than 4,000 categorised as “high risk”; 
  • At least 20 percent of homes do not meet the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard; • Four in ten homes have not had an electrical condition test for over a decade; 
  • A lack of evidence that the Borough is meeting smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements for any of its 16,000 homes; 
  • A lack of accurate information on stock quality, with 60 percent of properties without a survey within the last five years; and 
  • Around 5,400 open repairs, nearly half of which were overdue. 
  • Limited evidence of the Council sharing performance information with tenants, particularly when things go wrong, and few opportunities for them to influence and scrutinise the Council’s strategies, policies and services. 

Despite all of this, there was recognition that the repairs scheme introduced more recently was making a difference and the Council was praised for its approach to accommodating tenants’ diverse needs.


Newham Voices has also been told that the Labour Party centrally is considering sending an “improvement board” to Newham. These boards are used by the party to target support for Labour administrations that are failing to deliver services or are at risk of bankruptcy. 

The report comes at a critical time when the Council has had to ask the government for an emergency cash bail-out and is consulting residents over a programme of extreme cost-cutting measures which have sparked anger and dismay across the Borough. 

The Council is supporting around 6,500 families in temporary accommodation and has more than 38,000 households on the housing waiting list. 

At the same time, increasing rents and homelessness in the capital have risen sharply and social care costs in a borough with high levels of poverty have stretched the Borough’s budget to breaking point.

In the 12 months to April it saw 6,685 homelessness applications — up 26 per cent on the previous year. This year alone the budget will overspend by £47million, of which £31million is for housing homeless families and £16million for social care costs. 

Newham could have avoided this disgrace if, like many other councils, it had referred itself to the regulator to deal with its poor performance and, in particular, its inadequate system for compliance data collection, which was poor and didn’t meet the requirements of the regulator. 

Council leaders were quick to apologise to tenants. Abi Gbago, Newham’s Chief Executive, head of the team responsible, admitted they had let tenants down. 

“We unequivocally accept all the recommendations in the report,” she said. “We can and must do better for our tenants.” She said the Council has been making improvements since the inspectors’ visit in May. 

Mayor Fiaz also apologised. “I have made clear that the required improvements by the housing services department must be swift and rapid,” she said. 

In her weekly newsletter for October 27th Mayor Fiaz outlined a raft of measures that were being implemented to address the Council’s failings. 

She has also appointed two new Cabinet members to replace Councillor Mohammed. Cllr Blossom Young becomes Cabinet Lead for Housing Land lord and Tenant Experience Improvement, and Cllr Amar Virdee is the new Cabinet Lead for Housing Needs, Homelessness and Private Rented Sector. 

But apologies and promises from the Mayor to work with the regulator to repair the damage to the Council’s reputation may not be enough. Many councillors feel let down. One told Newham Voices the report was particularly shocking because “whenever we’ve asked questions about housing we’ve been assured by officers that everything is in order”. Another commented: “This state of constant crisis is not a good look for local government. There’s a need for credible leadership and people have to be held to account.” 

In terms of the Council executive team Newham has had five Chief Executives over the last ten years (two interim and three permanent). The latest Abi Gbago has been in the £225,000 a year post since September last year. Darren Levy held the sole role of Housing Director for four years until August this year. David Padfield took over as Interim Director in September.


No news is bad news 

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts. 

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less. 

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation. 

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit 

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. 

Donate now with Pay Pal

More information on supporting us monthly or annually 

More Information about donations