Lambeth named as worst for Families

10.02.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 21st May 2007

The report highlights the plight of local families

Lambeth has been named as one of the worst 50 places in England, Scotland or Wales to bring up families.

The shock Reader's Digest Poll ranked Lambeth 365th out of 408 local authorities listed in the poll. The exhaustive survey asked parents to rate their local authority for good state schools, a low crime rate, good local hospitals, affordable family housing and high employment opportunities.

This double whammy comes soon after Lambeth lost one of its two stars in an Audit Commission rating due to the lack of libraries following earlier closures under the Labour-controlled Council and the branding of Lambeth as officially the worst-run London Council out of 32 Boroughs.

As if to emphasise the problem, local newspapers this week exposed the plight of a young single mum in Gipsy Hill who is too scared to live in her council home after thieves targeted the property three times in the last 18 months - once at gun-point.

The 25 year old mum complained to the Council about faulty windows but the Council has said this could take more than a year. In the meantime she is unable to obtain contents insurance because of the Council's neglect.

Liberal Democrat Group Chair, Cllr Brian Palmer, said, "This is a disgrace. Lambeth Housing is in meltdown, crime is rife and people everywhere feel unsafe in their own homes. It is not hard to see why Lambeth is so low in all the independent polls. Only Labour is misguided enough to think that everything is getting better"