Southwark’s housing boss has said the most vulnerable residents will be “at risk” due to budget constraints.
Cllr Darren Merrill’s stark warning came a week after the News revealed that a woman was found deceased in her Borough flat, likely laying undiscovered for months.
On Wednesday, January 11, councillors scrutinised Southwark’s 2023 budget but Cllr Merrill suggested the council’s settlement from central government was inadequate.
Exclusive: Woman living in “swamp” conditions found dead in Borough flat
“The point of this budget… is increasingly to make sure we’ve got enough officers… to make sure our properties are up to scratch,” he said.
“But unless we have the budget to do those [things], that puts our most vulnerable residents at risk.”
He was responding to a question from Liberal Democrat Councillor Irina von Wiese, who said she was “in a state of shock” at Southwark’s housing.
Southwark’s financial settlement from central government for this year is £162 million, up from £153 million in 2022 -2023. But Cllr Stephanie Cryan has said that once you “strip out inflation… its real-term spending value has decreased”.
At the meeting, a council officer explained that “unprecedented economic problems” meant Southwark’s housing situation was “the worst I’ve ever seen”.
He said the inflation rate on construction works had risen by 30 per cent in the first seven months of 2022.
He explained that had “eroded the amount of major works that we can do.. that’s just a real-world practical issue that we face”.
Southwark Labour say the borough’s finances have never recovered from their overall budget being slashed by a third in 2010 by the then Conservative Lib Dem coalition government.
The council this week approved a seven per cent rent increase for social tenants but the officer said this “still leaves us massively short of where we need to be”.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Irina von Wiese said: “What Southwark’s council house tenants have had to put up with the past year is completely unacceptable.
“I receive countless complaints from my residents about the state of their council homes and Southwark’s woefully insufficient response to these issues.
“I’m glad Labour are finally admitting there is a problem, and now they have to get to work fixing it.”