You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Government calls for racism to be ‘rooted out’ of social housing following ITV expose
The government has called for racism to be “rooted out” of the social housing sector after an ITV News expose highlighted major issues at councils in the UK.
The call came in response to the latest investigation by ITV which looks at housing disrepair in the social housing sector.
In the latest instalment, the programme found alleged instances of racist attitudes within councils when dealing with tenants’ repair issues, as well as testimony from residents in which they feel racism has shaped their treatment.
The ITV investigation included a mother of four from Kenya who felt racism shaped her treatment from staff at her landlord Hull Council. She claims that she was told she “could always go back” after complaining about serious disrepair problems at her council house.
Hamedi Mahamed told the broadcaster that she believed the complaints had not been treated seriously because she is Black. She said: “I used to say I don’t think [about racism] but I believe now… They think I am nothing.”
The disrepair issues, which had persisted for two and a half years, included a collapsed ceiling in their downstairs hallway and water leaks from the upstairs bathroom into the kitchen below.
Hull Council said it takes these allegations of racism “very seriously”, but added that the evidence it refuted was the contention that it had not responded to Ms Mahamed’s repair requests.
The ITV expose also spoke with a whistleblower who worked at a London council who was concerned about racist attitudes at her unnamed local authority and claimed that senior staff were making “racially motivated judgements about tenants”.
The whistleblower also said the problem was “endemic” within the authority as racist comments were made openly in meetings.
READ MORE
The ITV excerpt also returned to previous tenants it had featured in its series, who all believed they had been subject to racial or class-based prejudice.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) spokesperson said: “Racism has no place in our society and action must be taken to root it out wherever it is found.
“Social housing providers are required to treat their tenants with fairness and respect.
“We’ve already given the Housing Ombudsman new powers to hold landlords to account and we’re bringing forward wide-ranging reforms to the sector, including making sure complaints are dealt with fairly and promptly and giving the regulator greater powers to take action.”
When asked to comment on the racism issues at Hull Council and the unnamed London council, the Local Government Association, which represents local authorities across England, said it deferred to the councils involved.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “The National Housing Federation and housing associations condemn racism of any kind, in any context, and are committed to tackling racism and inequality in all its forms.
“Housing associations are at the heart of many diverse communities, and we understand that our sector has a crucial role in championing equality, diversity and inclusion.
“Ensuring that our workforce is representative of the people we serve is fundamental to this work, which is why we’re leading on a sector-wide project to collect and publish data on how representative our members are of their communities, and strive for equal representation.”
In its response to ITV, Hull Council said that more than 70 repairs had been carried out at Ms Mahamed’s home and that a new property had been found for the family.
A Hull Council spokesperson told ITV: “The evidence refutes the contention that Hull City Council has not responded properly to Ms Mahamed’s frequent requests for repairs, but we take any allegations of racism extremely seriously. This concern had not been reported or raised with us previously and we are now in the process of thoroughly investigating it.”
The council said it had been in continuous dialogue with Ms Mahamed to improve the property and provided the family with support through children’s social care.
“In May this year, we arranged for the family to be temporarily moved to an alternative property so that further substantial repairs could be carried out. The home was repaired and in June 2021 the family were moved back in, but the property has since deteriorated again,” the council said.
It added that the volume of repair requests was vastly in excess of the normal range expected for a property like Ms Mahamed’s, but it was now seeking a third-party assessment to ensure the condition of the home is not the cause of water leakages.
Ms Mahamed has now been offered and accepted a new home, Hull Council stated.
