Norwich Green Party News

  • council slammed for failing council tenants

    Pressure grows on Cabinet Member as Labour-run council slammed for failing council tenants by housing watchdog

    Last year, Green Party councillors called for an urgent review into Norwich City Council’s management of council homes across the city, after a damning report from the national  Housing Ombudsman found the council to be among the worst performing landlords in the country for 2022-23. (1) 

     With the publication of the report for 2023-24 showing that the council’s performance has got even worse, Green councillors are now raising serious questions about the council’s ability to maintain its properties and the competence of the Cabinet Member for Housing, Beth Jones. 

    In a report published this month, the Housing Ombudsman showed that findings of  inefficient or dishonest administration or mismanagement*, have risen five fold from 5 to 26, compensation payouts have risen from £2,100 to £11,125, and improvement orders from the Ombudsman against the Labour-run council snowballing from 8 to 55. (2)

    This comes after Norwich City Council’s own report into its performance in handling housing complaints showed that just one in five  residents said they were satisfied with the Labour-run council’s performance. (3)

    The most recent investigation into Norwich City Council by the Housing Ombudsman showed the council had, for two years, repeatedly ignored concerns about vulnerable children in a mouldy property, failing to even acknowledge the residents’ concerns. (4)

    alex catt
    Councillor Alex Catt

    Deputy Leader of the Green Group and Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing, Alex Catt  said: “The council are putting lives at risk. Having raised these concerns last year, and on many occasions since then, it is incredibly disappointing that not only has the Labour-run council’s ability to resolve issues for its tenants has got worse, but its failings have grown exponentially. It is very clear that the Labour-run council has lost its grip on the state of its 17,000 council properties.  

    “Green councillors across the city regularly take on cases from mistreated council tenants and fight to get them the repairs they need, which can range from basic issues to damp and mould covering entire properties, properties infested with rats, homes lacking a properly functioning front door or residents with severe medical issues feeling trapped in inappropriate properties while the council refuse to rehome them.

    “The issues faced by many tenants, and their experience in requesting help from Norwich City Council very often reduces people to tears and I have been in contact with multiple residents who have told me that the council’s negligence has pushed them to having suicidal thoughts.”

    “In the short term, Green councillors are seeking an urgent meeting with the cabinet member about the treatment of tenants and we are calling for this matter to be referred to the cross-party scrutiny committee at the council. However, it is clear that the Labour-run council have lost control of this issue. With over 14,000 properties, it is high-time that the council establishes a housing scrutiny committee with tenant representatives so that a light can be shone on these issues all-year round and to ensure that tenants’ voices are at the heart of decision making.”


    References:

    1. Norwich City Council placed on list of worst landlords in the country by Housing Watchdog.  – Norwich
    2. https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/10/Landlord-Report-Norwich-City-Council.pdf
    3. Norwich city council Housing complaints performance and service improvement report 2023-24 – Search
    4. Norwich City Council (202316506) – Housing Ombudsman
  • Fly Tipping blunder

    City councillor, Alex Catt was left frustrated after a lack of resources and proper enforcement processes meant officers were unable to collect evidence of fly tipping that could have led to a large fine being issued.

    Cllr Alex Catt, deputy leader of the Green group, said: “After finding a large amount of household items and rubbish dumped at Long Row in the NR3 area of the city, I noticed multiple letters with the name and address of the probable offender.“

    “After contacting officers at Norwich City Council, I was told not to report the items for removal, to leave all evidence with the rubbish and let a council officer come out to investigate. However, when the officer was able to come and investigate, many of the items had been removed and the letters were missing, likely preventing fines from being given out.” 

    “The city continues to look like a real mess in places, and we are calling on the council to clamp down on the tippers. It needs to change its processes in these circumstances to ensure that vital evidence is not lost.”

    With a small team covering the city, a lack of CCTV in many key fly-tipping hotspots and waste collection teams untrained in evidence collection, fines will now likely be impossible despite clear evidence. This is a story which must be being repeated hundreds of times across the city with offenders avoiding punishment.

    Norwich City Council has only given out 13 fines for fly-tipping in the last five years despite roughly 6,000 instances every single year, and the council have failed to use new powers given by the government to increase the maximum fine from £400 to £1,000.

    Green councillors are calling for Norwich City Council to start taking fly-tipping enforcement seriously by 

    -Expanding the installation of CCTV in fly-tipping hotspots across the city

    -Increasing the fines for fly-tipping to the maximum set down by legislation 

    -Ensuring that fly-tipping collection crews are trained to collect evidence when responding to any instance of fly-tipping 

    -Making it easier for residents to alert the council of individuals they suspect to be repeat offenders in their area

    -Issuing clear advice for residents and councillors on what to do if they expect evidence may be present when finding fly-tipping, to prevent evidence from being removed. 

    -Using new powers from central government to increase the maximum fine for fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000

  • homelessness Petition

    At the Full Council meeting on 24th Tuesday, Norwich residents will present a petition signed by 568 people asking the Council to take urgent action to ensure people experiencing homelessness aren’t left out in freezing temperatures and extreme weather conditions this winter. 

    This is in reaction to a letter published in the Guardian last year by a Norwich charity worker who witnessed how refugees experiencing homelessness were refused shelter by Norwich City Council during freezing temperatures. (1)

    One chilling quote read, “One young man described his fear at 4am, under the bridge where he was sleeping, when it started snowing; how he had chest pains and felt his body lock up.”

    The petition is calling for the Council to:

    • Confirm that overnight Winter Shelters will be open every day of the week over the Winter period;
    • Urgently review the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol so that it takes into account all forms of extreme weather, is based on the ‘feels like’ temperature and brings rough sleepers in BEFORE we reach freezing temperatures;
    • Keep all homeless people safe from freezing temperatures and extreme weather over this Winter period, including refugees who are disproportionately impacted by failures in homelessness services.

    Serene Shibli, a local campaigner and Green Party member who will present the petition said, “it’s unacceptable that in Norwich a ‘city of sanctuary’ we have city council policies that would turn away someone in need and risk leaving people out in dangerously low temperatures. It’s reckless and irresponsible, and we need to be demanding more as no one should be left out in the cold.”

    Green Party Councillors Hannah Hoechner and Alex Catt will be proposing a motion at the same council meeting in support of the petition, in response to rumours that Norwich City Council is not planning to run a Winter Night Shelter for people experiencing homelessness this year, and given that the Council’s severe weather protocol is not currently in line with best practice.

    Cllr Hannah Hoechner said: 

    The Council’s current policy would leave people out in potentially freezing temperatures for up to three days and it does not take into account the ‘feels-like’ temperature or other extreme weather conditions like rain, snow or gales. Experiences on the ground show us that people in need have been refused access in the past. We must make sure this never happens again.”

    “We hope that political groups across the Chamber will unite to support this motion so that nobody risks dying of cold on Norwich’s streets this winter.”

    According to the ‘Dying Homeless Project’, 1,313 people experiencing homelessness died on the streets of the United Kingdom in 2022 when statistics were last compiled. (3)

    1. In Norwich, homeless refugees are being left in the freezing cold | Homelessness | The Guardian
    2. Norwich City Council: don’t let homeless people freeze on our streets this Winter. (actionnetwork.org)
    3. https://museumofhomelessness.org/dhp

  • Norwich Green Party sends solidarity to the Muslim community and people of colour in the face of fascism

    Norwich Green Party is appalled by the far-right organised political violence that we are seeing on streets across the country. 

    We must be clear that what we are seeing is racism and Islamophobia. It is aimed at destroying communities, targeting Muslims and asylum seekers and it is high-time that our political leaders called it out for what it is: fascism. 

    What we are seeing hasn’t come about inside a vacuum. It has been actively promoted by politicians who have given in to the rhetoric of the far-right: the false and dangerous narrative that immigration and refugees are a threat to our country. This must be a wake-up call for them. 

    While we have thankfully not seen these riots on the streets of Norwich, we know that Islamophobia and racism has been on the rise with hate-crimes increasing, racist material being distributed and a spread of racist attitudes online. 

    We send solidarity and support to the Muslim community and all people of colour in Norwich who will be watching the events unfolding and fearing for their own safety. 

    Norwich has a proud history of showing the far-right the door, and once again as a city  we will  unite against Islamophobia and political violence. 

  • Scrap the two-child benefit cap

    More than a third of children in Norwich South live in poverty. Scrapping the cruel and unjust two-child benefit cap would help lift 300,000 children across the country out of poverty.

    Yet both of Norwich’s Labour MPs have voted to keep this policy. While Green MPs voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap and support the most vulnerable, Norwich South MP Clive Lewis and Norwich North MP Alice MacDonald voted to keep the cap.

    Clive Lewis and Alice MacDonald didn’t have to do this. Seven Labour MPs supported scrapping the two-child benefit cap, voting with their consciences. Yet Norwich’s Labour MPs chose to toe the party line rather than doing the right thing.

    Norwich deserves better. We cannot afford to continue letting children live in poverty when the Government has the means to end it.

    Tell Norwich’s Labour MPs Alice MacDonald and Clive Lewis – we will not stand for children going hungry. Alice MacDonald has said “I will always listen to constituents and make the case, if and when necessary, if I think my party hasn’t got something right.”.Urge to them to change their mind and vote against the two-child benefit cap. Sign our petition here.

  • Protecting the right to strike

    Protecting the right to strike

    Green councillors brought a motion to the full Council meeting on 16th July asking that Norwich City Council protects the right of its employees to take industrial action. The motion was passed unanimously.

    The motion, proposed by Cllr Hoechner and seconded by Cllr Stonard from the Labour group, asks the Chief Executive of the Council to agree to exercise its discretion to not issue work notices under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. It also asks the Leader of the Council to encourage Norfolk County Council to take similar steps to protect its employees’ right to strike.

    The motion was suggested to the Council’s political groups by the Norwich & District Trades Union Council.

    The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 brought in under the past conservative government has severely restricted the right to strike. Under this legislation, employees in certain key sectors can be required to work, even if they have democratically voted to strike, and lawfully be sacked if they refuse to comply.

    Amnesty International says that the Act “gives ministers sweeping powers to impose minimum service levels after whatever consultations they see fit,” thereby ignoring “key safeguards that protect workers’ rights under international law.”[1]

    Cllr Hoechner says: “The right to strike is a fundamental freedom protected by international law. It is vital for the balance of power in the workplace and essential for keeping pay inequalities from growing further. The past conservative government has chipped away at this fundamental freedom. Let’s do what we can locally to protect the right to strike of everyone working for our Council.”

    The incoming Labour government has pledged to repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act within its first 100 days in office.[2]

    The Trades Union Congress has been campaigning against the Act, calling it “malicious, unnecessary and unworkable”.[3]

  • Council takes steps to buy Anglia Square

    16 July 2024

    Norwich City Council will this evening take a step forward towards purchasing the Anglia Square site and prioritising local businesses and affordable housing, as a motion written by Green councillors will receive cross-party backing.

    Jamie Osborn, Green councillor for Mancroft Ward which covers the Anglia Square area, wrote a proposal for the city council to purchase Anglia Square using Government funding, and to work with local architects and developers to produce for the future of the site.

    The proposals have received the backing of the Labour group, with Council Leader Cllr Stonard agreeing to propose a motion at the city council meeting this evening.

    Jamie Osborn said: “For decades, Anglia Square has faced development limbo. This motion, which was written by Green councillors and is backed by the Labour leadership, sets out a way forward for this key site.

    “Purchasing Anglia Square would be a huge step forward for getting affordable housing in the north city centre, and would mean that businesses can be sure of their future.

    “Green councillors will continue to work collaboratively to put the needs of the local community and of our city first and foremost in the future of Anglia Square.”

  • Peer joins Green councillors for election launch  

    Peer joins Green councillors for election launch  

    A manifesto for the 2024 local elections highlighting good quality housing for all, the need for the city council to get to grips with the basics, and creating a resilient city fit for the future is to be launched by Norwich Green Party with special guest and Green Party peer, Baroness Natalie Bennett on Friday. 

    Lucy Galvin, Green Party leader on Norwich city council, said: 

    “We want to see Norwich city council listening to residents and raising its game, to do the basics very well. More green councillors elected will help achieve this. We continue to call on the council to tackle out of control fly tipping, the huge housing repairs backlog, and build in action on the climate and nature to everything it does so that our city has a healthy future.”  

    “Our manifesto is all about leading the way to a resilient city – with homes for all, safe clean streets, and healthy nature. In Norwich, it’s a straight fight between Labour and the Greens; a vote for a Green councillor is a vote for someone who will listen and take action”.  

  • Norwich City Council slammed by Housing Ombudsman

    Greens propose new measures to counter severe mismanagement

    Green councillors are proposing improvements to how residents contact the council in a wide-ranging motion to Norwich City Council’s full council meeting on 30th January 2024. The proposals also address serious issues in the council’s service to its social housing tenants. 

    In October 2023, the Housing Ombudsman named Norwich City Council as one of the worst social landlords in the country, with the council being found to be at fault in 100% of findings made in 2022-23. 

    And, in December 2023, the Housing Ombudsman were forced to make yet another ruling of severe maladministration against Norwich City Council, when a resident was hospitalised after repeated complaints about damp and mould which went without action from the council for nearly three years.

    This damning report found that the council was failing in its duty to carry out basic damp and mould inspections, alongside failing to communicate with residents, not investigating complaints, and other major problems. The ombudsman ordered the council to pay out £1800 in compensation, and senior management at the council to apologise to the tenant. Reviews of council policies have also been ordered in response to this.

    To ensure action is taken, Green councillors are proposing a list of measures to improve contact with the council and to try and prevent this record of maladministration. These measures include reopening the customer contact centre so that people can walk into City Hall and access services, simplifying letters from the council, allowing tenants to schedule their own repairs and ensuring that the council cannot close repairs cases when work has not been completed, or is not up to standard. 

    Cllr Alex Catt, Deputy Leader of the Green group at City Hall said: “Council tenants in my ward feel that they have been lied to by the council while fighting for basic housing repairs needed for their own health and safety. We need urgent action to improve the council’s communication with tenants so that people are not left in the dark when trying to get damp, mould or leaking roofs repaired. I hope that councillors of all parties will heed the warnings of the Housing Ombudsman and back the measures continued in this motion. “

    Cllr Ash Haynes, Green Party councillor for Thorpe Hamlet said: “We absolutely cannot allow this situation to continue. We’ve highlighted simple, cost-effective measures the council can take to improve how it communicates with residents, saving time and money as well as bringing the service we provide back up to an acceptable level. If we delay fixing this, our tenants and residents will suffer.”

    Notes:

    1. Housing Ombudsman list of landlords with high maladministration rates 22-23: Landlords with high maladministration rates 22-23 – Housing Ombudsman (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)
    2. Housing Ombudsman landlord report 22-23: Norwich City Council: Landlord-Report-Norwich-City-Council.pdf (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)
    3. Housing Ombudsman complaint ruling 202234907 for the case described above: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RJFox3_kbtXvfUlGBWvHEdjN_F7axt_L/view?usp=sharing
    4. Contacting the council and preventing maladministration motion to Norwich City Council, 30th January 2024: Document.ashx (norwich.gov.uk)
  • How many phone calls to council does it take to change a lightbulb? 

    Council tenants have said that they are being left in the dark when it comes to reporting repairs in council housing, with broken lights and windows taking months to fix. 

    Green Councillors in Mancroft are concerned over the amount of time it is taking for repairs to be completed in council estates, with some issues, such as streetlights not working for over 9 months, leading to residents feeling unsafe in the area, and concerns over anti-social behaviour. 

    Multiple residents and Green Councillors in the ward have been consistently contacting the council to arrange repairs to streetlights in the area around Haslips Close & Greyhound Opening since before May 2023, yet the council has so far failed to carry out the repairs. 

    While the Haslips Close area is part of the City Council’s flagship new social housing development, which the council is keen to note has won major national awards, the council is failing on the basics. Residents have said that repairs aren’t being carried out on-time, including broken windows and flooding issues taking over a year to repair.  

    Sally Reynolds, a resident of Greyhound Opening since 2019, said: “The worst thing is that the council doesn’t even acknowledge that I have been reporting the broken lights for months. It feels like local people are being left in the dark by the council, and unsafe in our neighbourhoods. It shouldn’t take months to repair some lights. The council should get on with it.” 

    Another resident, Marc Wernicke, said: Seeing these light posts out of order for at least a year and a half now has been very frustrating. It adds to the perception of this newly built residential area already being in a state of decay and neglect. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the lack of lighting also makes the path feel unsafe particularly during the dark season.” 

    Councillor Amanda Fox said: “One call to the council should be enough for repairs to be carried out in a timely fashion, and residents should be informed of any reasons for delays to the completion of these repairs. Tenants tell me that they are going in circles when reporting issues and are being promised repairs that never come to fruition. This case is just one example of the wider problems residents are facing when it comes to resolving issues in their homes and neighbourhoods. How many calls should it take to change a lightbulb?”