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A Green party councillor has called for the mayor of Newham to resign after the borough was given the worst possible rating by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) last week.
Green party councillor Areeq Chowdhury was discussing the borough’s housing crisis at Monday’s full council (21 October 2024) when he suggested Rokhsana Fiaz resign from her role as Newham's mayor.
Prior to Monday’s meeting, Cllr Shaban Mohammed decided to step down from his role as cabinet member for housing services and modernisation, a position which he has held for the last four years, as the Labour-run council was handed a ‘C4’ grading by the watchdog.
The Regulator of Social Housing had found ‘very serious failings’, and discovered thousands of yet-to-be-done repairs on Newham Council properties, along with fire safety works that were overdue by more than 12 months.
Last night, I spoke in favour of the @NewhamGreens motion calling for the scrapping of right to buy and for the introduction of rent controls.
— Areeq Chowdhury (@AreeqChowdhury) October 22, 2024
I also called for the Mayor of Newham to resign her post, following a damning report by the Government's Regulator for Social Housing. pic.twitter.com/236rSoZrjv
Cllr Chowdhury said: “…and while we are on the topic of council housing, the recent report by [RSH] which gave us the worst possible grading, should bring shame to us all.
“It, in effect, labels Newham Council as a dangerous, slum landlord. It was right for the cabinet member for housing to have resigned, but, ultimately, the buck stops with the mayor. She, too, should resign and allow for fresh leadership to help take the council forward.”
Mayor Fiaz did not respond at the meeting to Cllr Chowdhury’s calls for her to resign.
At the beginning of the meeting, Ms Fiaz announced and appointed two new housing-focused lead roles following Cllr Mohammed’s departure from cabinet.
Cllr Blossom Young is now cabinet member for housing landlord and tenant experience improvements while Amar Virdee is cabinet member for housing need, homelessness and private rented sector.
Ms Fiaz said she was ‘deeply troubled’ by RSH’s report and was sorry because "residents deserve better".
She said: “Let me make clear as the mayor of Newham, my job is to advocate for the people of Newham and yes, to be accountable and hold those tasks with delivering improvements to account – that’s why I will be holding the council to account.
“The council will be open and transparent about its failings and its progress in making improvements and lessons must be learnt right across the council in every department, in every team as part of our ongoing work to change how we operate and perform as a public service organisation.”
The theme for Monday’s meeting was Newham’s temporary accommodation crisis, and councillors from both the Labour and Green parties addressed the issue through speeches and motions.
The borough has the highest number of households in temporary accommodation out of anywhere in the country, which has created immense pressure on the council’s finances.
The council is predicting a £175 million budget black hole over the next three years, of which £100m the council says is down to temporary accommodation costs.
Nate Higgins, leader of the Green party group on Newham Council, said it would be up to the Labour national government to put local government "back on a sustainable financial footing".
As part of the Green party’s motion, Cllr Danny Keeling suggested there be a scrutiny commission dedicated to the temporary accommodation crisis.
The sitauation has prompted the council to ask central government for Exceptional Finance Support (EFS) and Mayor Fiaz re-emphasised the need for government help at Monday's meeting.
