Under the past Labour government local councils could only access extra funding to bring their homes up to the Decent Homes standard was if they transferred all their council homes into a Housing Association or an Arms Length Management Organisation such as Lambeth Living which all Lambeth Council homes were transferred to.

It was clear that nationally Labour didn’t trust local councils to deliver Decent Homes or had developed an aversion to council housing being provided. Very weird.

The new coalition has no such aversion. It’s in the process of changing the rules so councils can also apply for extra funds to make homes Decent. With the truly appalling track record of Lambeth Living it is probably time to disband it and take it back into Lambeth Council OR transfer if residents prefer transfer it into a Housing Association. I’d hope the former. This is exactly what Unison in Lambeth have asked for and in this instance I have to agree with their Jon Rogers.

This also means that the now Labour led Southwark Council doesn’t have any excuse to transfer out Southwarks council housing. This is good news as this felt a real risk after what happened in Lambeth.