COMMENT: TOWERING RAGE OVER LABOUR'S FIRE-RISK NEGLECT

8.29.48pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 29th Sep 2009

Liberal Democrats have joined tenant and leaseholder fury that Lambeth heads another league table of shame in the Capital by having carried out only two mandatory fire risk assessments out of 112 high-rise properties as required by law for three years.

The full extent of the Labour-run Council's shocking failure in its duty of care to residents and their families living in properties over six stories that experts have labelled unsafe in the event of fire was revealed in a BBC London report by Kurt Barling and comes after Liberal Democrat Opposition Councillors have been trying to glean the same information since the disastrous fire last July at Lakanal House in neighbouring Southwark. Time and time again Labour's Housing ALMO Lambeth Living has refused to reveal which of its properties are affected.

Now we know - nearly all of them.

Trouble is Labour hides behind the Council, Lambeth Council hides behind the ALMO - but where will Lambeth Council tenants and leaseholders hide in the event of a disastrous fire?

These fire-risk assessments are not optional niceties they are a legal requirement. Each and every Council block must have one by law. And Lambeth should have done these fire assessments since 2006. Yet when forced to make an announcement to the BBC they could only claim to have them done by March 2010 - handily just before an election. Also with an election in mind, Labour has been upgrading housing tower blocks in Kennington but yet has not carried out a fire risk assessment either on the existing building or on the expensive upgrades. What use is a refurbished flat that could be a death trap?

Meanwhile in a block in the north of the borough that was subject to an arson attack, this still bears the scars months afterwards - scars that are not just unsightly but would make the building even more unsafe in the event of another fire. Yet people are still expected to live in such appalling and neglectful conditions under Labour.

We find it strange to say the very least that a Council that is so quick to subject tenants and leaseholders to block-busting rent and service charge increases and to unprecedented and completely unjustified energy bill increases can also be so cavalier about its duty of care as Landlord that it cannot be bothered even to find out whether those same citizens are safe in their homes.

Labour often likes to sloganise that "we're on your side" but this shocking expose' shows just how hollow Labour's words are.

And we have a Labour Council Leader who likes to brag that he's in charge of Housing Best Practice right across London yet his own tenants and leaseholders in blocks over six stories will have to wait six months or more simply to be told the level of the fire risk to themselves and their families. Lambeth's Labour Council Leader advises all other London Councils yet his own Council has the worst record by far for non-compliance with fire regulations in the entire capital.

Let us sincerely hope that his shameful indifference to the people he serves does not literally reach the levels of the hated Emperor Nero.