East Kent Housing Ditched As Councils Take Back Control Of 17,000 Homes

Councils have taken back control of about 17,000 homes which were formerly under the management of scandal-hit East Kent Housing. Canterbury, Folkestone and Hythe, Dover and Thanet authorities will now bring the day-to-day running of their properties in-house. Seventy new jobs have been created across the four districts as a result of the changes. East Kent Housing (EKH) was at the centre of a scandal in 2019, when it was discovered its management of properties was riddled with systemic failings. Thousands of safety rulings had been flouted, and the councils' chief executives admitted they "had no choice" but to axe the board and work towards dismantling the operator. Read more on Kentonline.

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/councils-take-back-control-of-17-000-homes-234785/

East Kent Housing Staff And Services Set To Transfer To Councils

The staff and the services of a scandal-hit social housing firm are set to transfer to the four councils that own it across Kent on September 30. East Kent Housing manages more than 17,000 properties on behalf of councils in Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, and Thanet. The decision to break it up was made by councillors at all four councils at the start of the year following a consultation with tenants. It was prompted by a series of health and safety failings discovered at some of the properties EKH was managing for the councils. Read more at Kentonline.

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/date-set-for-takeover-of-scandal-hit-housing-firm-226241/

200 London Families To Move To Council Homes In Barracks

More than 200 families from a London borough are set to move to council homes in east Kent after social housing bosses outbid the local authority to capture the ex-army properties.  The 208 homes at Howe Barracks in Canterbury – which is now closed – were returned to their owners, private housing firm Annington Homes, when the MOD relinquished the lease on them. Canterbury City Council - which has 2,500 people on its housing register - says it submitted a “robust and comprehensive” bid to secure the homes for local people, but lost out to the London Borough of Redbridge – 60 miles away in the north east of the capital. Read more on Kent Online.

Homelessness, Violent Crime and Debt on the Rise

Welfare reforms are being linked to a rise in homelessness, violent crime, people in debt and the number of children relying on food banks to get by in Kent, a shock report has suggested. The reforms are also being linked to a rise in the number of vulnerable children being placed in Kent from other areas, notably London. It cautions the findings are “fairly tentative”, but there is “potential for increased vulnerability of some residents” resulting from the changes. It says the number of people who are homeless in Kent rose by 25% in the first three months of the year, while the number of families temporarily in bed and breakfast accommodation was up 22%, compared with the figure for the same period the year before. Read more at Kentonline.