Posts

LBWF tells a disabled tenant on a redeveloped estate: we are offering you a new flat, but you’ve got to complete the formalities, and move your stuff over…within four days

March 3, 2022 Redevelopment

Sometimes, LBWF’s behaviour really is beyond the pale. An example is the letter below. It was sent to a longstanding tenant, who is disabled, lives on an estate that is being re-developed, and has been waiting to be rehoused since 2018. On the plus side, the letter is the offer of a new flat. But on the minus side – and it is a very big minus – the offer comes with some stringent conditions.  The letter was sent by e-mail on Thursday 24 February 2022 in the late afternoon, states that the new flat’s tenancy will start on Monday 28 February 2022, and cautions that ‘unless you fail to view and accept the property within 3 working days (from the date of this letter) we will assume that you... »

LBWF hands out £8m. of government support grants for pandemic hit businesses, but won’t say which got the cash

February 28, 2022 COVID-19, Post-COVID

During the pandemic, LBWF has been awarded large amounts of central government money both for its own use, and to support the borough’s economy. One of the biggest of the latter disbursements occurred between November 2020 and July 2021, when LBWF received £8m. from the England-wide Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme, and paid it out to 1,051 local businesses. The objective was to focus on the ‘strategically significant’, defined as those ‘able to demonstrate their contribution to the local economy through, including but not limited to…Contribution to borough priority sectors…Local & regional economic impact of potential loss…Impact of loss / retention on local regeneration…... »

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Google has some fun with Cllr. Anna Mbachu

February 21, 2022 Cllr. Anna Mbachu

Google ‘Cllr. Anna Mbachu’, and scrolling down finds the one time Mayor of Waltham Forest featuring in this juxtaposition: Who says algorithms don’t have a sense of humour? PS Just to be clear, Cllr.Mbachu’s indiscretion happened during her Mayoral Year in May 2010, and afterwards she apologised profusely, see »

The Housing Ombudsman Service berates LBWF for its error-strewn response to a resident’s routine request for information

February 17, 2022 Freedom of Information Act, LBWF spin, Town hall staff and policies

Hardly a week goes by without someone from the Town Hall popping up to insist that, in everything LBWF does, it is ‘resident focused’. However, as previous posts have suggested, whether such a boast can be sustained remains debateable. In this context, a recent complaint that a LBWF tenant lodged with the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) is significant. The tenant had wanted to confirm that her tenancy automatically would be handed down to her son, and believed that the relevant information was contained in a council document called ‘Appendix 10’. But when she had looked for ‘Appendix 10’ on LBWF’s website, it didn’t appear to be there, and so she had contacted the Town Hall for advice. What ... »

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Senior Cabinet portfolio holder Cllr. Simon Miller steps down, as local election tensions split Waltham Forest’s Labour and Conservative parties

February 10, 2022 anti-semitism, John Cryer MP, The Conservatives in Waltham Forest, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

In recent days, Cllr. Simon Miller has announced he will not be standing at the forthcoming local elections, and this is provoking some comment, because as Cabinet portfolio holder for Economic Prosperity he has guided many of the development schemes that are transforming parts of Waltham Forest. In a parting message, as reported by Victoria Munro in the February 2022 Waltham Forest Echo, Cllr. Miller explains that he is stepping down because juggling his full-time job with his council responsibilities is ‘“in the long term unsustainable”, and he now wants to ‘“spend more time with the people I love while I still can”’. However, there is a sting in the tail, for while urging local Labou... »

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