7:10am Wednesday 8th July 2009
By Matt Watts
Lambeth Council leader Steve Reed has dismissed claims millions of pounds of funding to improve social housing in the borough could be under threat as “scaremongering”.
Concerns about the safety of some £250m promised to Lambeth to improve housing were raised when it emerged a Government department may use the money to fund part of a £1.5 billion project to build 20,000 new homes.
Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman for Streatham, Chris Nicholson, has written to Housing Minister John Healey to seek assurances improvements would still be made to existing housing, as promised to Lambeth tenants.
He said Lambeth Living - the council’s controversial housing manager - was “lurching from one crisis to another”.
But Coun Reed said Mr Nicholson was “scaremongering”.
He said he had public confirmation from Mr Healey that the Government was planning to make an announcement on funding allocations as early as possible.
Lambeth will receive the £250m to improve its housing if Lambeth Living achieves a two star Audit Commission rating.
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