Lambeth ALMO Update

At the Vauxhall GC meeting held last Thursday, Labour members were addressed by the Lambeth Cabinet member for Council Housing, Clr John Kazantzis.

He must be congratulated for being frank about the Council and Labour Group's position on the proposed ALMO.

Briefly he mentioned:

• That the Consultation process was going to cost 1 Million GBP;
• That prior to the 2006 elections housing was discussed and it was decided that the ALMO was the preferred option;
• However while the election manifesto didn't mention an ALMO it didn't rule anything in or anything out either;
• That the Council, and himself, were committed to a 100% consultation with tenants and leaseholders;
• That the Council hadn't decided what the "Test of Opinion" would be yet;
• That the Council was still waiting for a decision from the Government on their ALMO submission.

After hearing from the Clr the meeting passed the following motions (please note the minutes have yet to be published so there may be minor changes):

This CLP welcomes the decision taken at the Labour Party Conference to support direct investment in council housing.

AND

This CLP notes the following:

• The Lambeth Labour election manifesto commitment to decent homes and living;
• The seriousness of the housing issue for both Tenants and Councillors;
• That current Labour Party policy supports the '4th option' for housing;
• The right of all Tenants to be balloted on any ALMO proposal.

The Vauxhall GC adopts this motion requiring a Labour Group meeting to be held prior to any Council vote on an ALMO proposal.

This CLP believes that the Council should thoroughly and constructively consult with, and conduct a formal ballot on the necessary questions of, all Tenants to determine their views on the ALMO proposal.

This CLP believes that this process will achieve two key things:

• It will provide all Tenants with a chance to democratically participate in an issue that directly affects them;
• Whatever the Tenants decision the Councillors can legitimately claim they have facilitated the will of Tenants.

For the purposes of this motion 'Tenants' also includes Leaseholders.

So as you can see there is some appetite for democracy, the next step is to maintain pressure on the Council to ensure that they continue to consult local tenants, leaseholders and Labour members, over the details of this proposal.

In support of this the Larkhall Labour branch is looking to hold an open community meeting on the proposed ALMO with Clr Steve Reed - Leader of the Council, Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey (TBC), Peter Redmond and a local tenant speaking on the issue.

The date set down is for the 26th April 2007 from 7.30-9.30 at the St John Parish hall, 386 Clapham Rd, Clapham North SW9 9AR.

Hope to see you all there and spread the news.