New cabinet members
On 21 May, Councillor Peter John OBE,
Leader of the council, was re-elected as Leader for the next four years.
His first job following this re-appointment was to select a new cabinet.
Cllr John said: “It’s a great honour to have been re-elected to serve as
Southwark’s Leader and I’m delighted to be supported by such an excellent and
diverse new cabinet, who will deliver on our priorities of building new homes,
improving our environment, and embedding links with all of our communities so
that all of our residents can benefit from the opportunities that are being
created in our borough.”
Council repairs to be brought in-house
From 1 October, the council’s
repairs service for tenants will be brought in-house following the end of its
contract with Mears. Over the years there have been challenges with the service
offered by contractors, and despite huge progress in response times and
resident satisfaction, the council knows there is still more we can do to
improve our repairs service for our tenants. We cannot promise improvements
overnight, and as with any change we expect that in the first few months after
the council takes over the repairs on 1 October, we may have a few teething
problems. We would ask for your patience and understanding while we use those
early weeks to iron out any challenges related to such a complex shift of
people and systems. Ultimately our ambition for the new service is for
Southwark to have the best repairs service in the country, quick to respond and
to fix problems to a high standard. We look forward to working with local
people as we develop our plans.
Help is available for households threatened with
homelessness
On the
3 April 2018 The Homelessness Reduction Act came into force and introduced the
biggest changes to homelessness services in over 40 years. Since 2016 the council has been an award-winning early-adopter trailblazer, trialling innovative new services
in preparation for the act. It is now a requirement for local authorities to
provide earlier and expanded work to prevent those threatened with
homelessness. This has resulted in a big expansion of the advice and assistance
that is offered to households, particularly to singles and couples with no
dependants. Visit our website for more details and
how to contact us.
Would you like to join our
homeowners readers’ panel?
The council produces a range of information and
online tools for homeowners. We need to ensure that our information is easy-to-read,
concise, useful and well-designed. Our readers’ panel is one of the ways you
can tell us what you think.
Any resident is welcome to join the panel; all you need
to do is add your email address to our homeowners readers’ panel distribution list
to allow us to occasionally send items to the panel to review and provide
feedback on. Please email us if you are interested in joining the panel.
Grants and loans are available for repairs
and improvements to your home
If you are a home-owner, the
council offers a range of grants and loans to help you with carrying out
repairs and improvements. If
you are disabled and need adaptations to your home to make it easier to live
in, you may qualify for a disabled facilities grant of up to £30,000.
The types of repairs that the council could help with include: roof
repairs and windows repairs; electrical
works, damp proofing and central heating; adaptations to the home including stair
lifts, ramps, level access showers and much more.
The council also provides a handyperson service. If you are over 60, or
any age with a disability and require small repairs carried out, then we can
help. For further details, please call 020 7525 1873 or email us.
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Bermondsey Carnival at Southwark Park
Bermondsey Carnival will bring an exciting programme of music, dance and events to Southwark Park on Saturday 20 June from 12pm to 8pm. There will be performances by Salute to Sinatra, Abba Girls tribute, Tiny Tina, Kindred Soul and a host of other great artists. For full event line-up and details visit our website.
Southwark tenant wins £1,000 prize draw
One
lucky Southwark tenant has won £1,000 after taking part in an annual council
housing survey. Sheila
Houry from Dulwich was selected in a prize draw after completing the survey
about major works that took place in her block. Ms Houry, who has lived in Southwark for
over 60 years, said she had been happy with the way the works were carried out
on her home.
Learn English in Southwark for free
The council in partnership with Bosco Centre are offering fully funded
English lessons for Southwark residents aged between 14 and 19. The courses include
reading, writing, family learning and activities. Please contact Bosco Centre
on 020 7232 0440 or email us to find
out more.
Let’s get cooking!
Do you
want to gain practical cooking skills, find out about healthy eating and get the
most out of your food budget?
Don’t miss the opportunity to attend free weekly
cooking courses near you. Previous participants have commented; "My daughter
now eats vegetables!" and "I had a good laugh and got to meet my neighbours". Places
are free but limited, please click here to register your interest or if you
require further information.
Landlord forum – save the date
The next landlord forum will be taking place on Thursday 20 September – further details will be available shortly on our website.
Homeowners arbitration service
Did you know that the council is one of the few social landlords to offer a free binding arbitration? We have established tribunals that act independently to resolve disputes between homeowners and the council.
You can find more detailed information on the MySouthwark homeowners agency website pages or you can email our arbitration service.
New
Strategic Director for Housing and Modernisation
The council welcomes a new Strategic Director
for Housing and Modernisation, Michael Scorer, who brings with him a wealth of
experience in the public sector.
In his previous role as Director of Housing Services
at Hackney Council, he was responsible for delivery of all housing
services to over 30,000 tenants and leaseholders. Michael has also worked for both the NHS and local government on health integration and outside of work is a trustee of a local homelessness charity.
Michael said “This is a
fantastic borough with a great track record and a very bright future. Listening
and responding to our residents will be at the heart of what we do and I will be
working hard to deliver the priorities of new council homes as well as
investing in repairing, maintaining and improving the homes that we already
have".
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